


Swimming Lessons

by soranokumo



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Canon - Original Game, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2002-09-27
Updated: 2002-09-26
Packaged: 2017-10-19 08:07:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 10
Words: 58,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/198717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soranokumo/pseuds/soranokumo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Life for a recruit at the SOLDIER Academy can be hell, and young Cloud Strife knows this very well. During the years prior to the Nibelheim Incident, Cloud's friendship with Zackary Donovan and the Commander of SOLDIER might mean the difference between sinking or swimming, especially when a murder draws Cloud into the light... as a suspect. Sephiroth x Zack x Cloud, some OC x Cloud, implied sex, and explicit language and violence.</p><p>Originally typed up in Summer/Autumn 2001. Edited during Winter/Spring 2003.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Tutelage

While there did exist a SOLDIER campus on the plate of Midgar, it was not the real campus/academy. The President of the Shinra just felt it was better for his security if he had a certain amount of Soldiers nearby in case he needed them. However, most of the Soldiers, their recruits, and even some squads of normal troopers beneath the eyes of certain Soldiers lived on the real campus. This campus was located several miles to the west of Midgar, connected to the towering behemoth by a few rail lines, and was home to about one thousand, five hundred men.

As you can imagine, the pool parties were quite possibly the rowdiest seen anywhere on the Planet. As it was, there was a pool party going on in order to commemorate the recruits' survival of summer midterms. All of the recruits and their mentoring Soldiers had been invited to attend, and the campus courtyard was filled with young men thoroughly busy with entertaining one another, from the spiked punch to the watergun capture-the-flag battles to the wrestling in the pool.

"Hey, Zack! Get your ass in the pool, it's awesome in here!" Several shouts accompanied that one, including a few catcalls, but Zack pointedly ignored them and stood at the edge of the pool. Arms crossed over his chest and a slight frown on his face, his eyes scanned the crowd of young men and boys. He was faintly annoyed, but the source of his irritation was nowhere in sight... and that was what was bothering him.

"Where the hell is he?" Zack murmured, his gaze eventually drifting to one side of the pool, where a group of young recruits stood. They were the shy ones, mostly, and all were outcasts, but the fact was that most of them knew Cloud. Not well enough to be considered friends, per se, but they did know Cloud better than most people. Usually at social gatherings, Cloud could be found standing among them, but the boy simply wasn't there.

In fact, Cloud wasn't anywhere in sight.

"C'mon, Zack, it isn't fair that you ignore us like that!"

Zack suddenly realized he had been seized by his arms and legs, and with a startled laugh felt himself get launched into the air.

 _Well, if he doesn't show up, then I'll just have to go and hunt him down--_

His train of thought would have continued, if it were not derailed by the sudden rush of water around him, and the assault of chlorine against his senses. Coming up for air, he grinned at the men who had thrown him in.

"Clemson, Ruggard, Matreyas... I'm gonna have your hides for this!"

James Clemson smirked insolently at him. "Yes, sir! That's exactly what we wanted, sir!"

"Oh, that's it, c'mere!"

"Zack, what are you--aaaah!"

"James! Sir, don't hold him under like that; he can't hold his breath that long!"

***

When the party had started to wind down, Zack left and took a quick shower. Soon he was walking down the academy halls, and stopped by the dorm room in the barracks that Cloud shared with three other recruits, but the three claimed to have no idea where Cloud had gone. Supposedly, he had disappeared an hour before the party began.

 _There's no way he went to Midgar by himself,_ Zack thought as he went down the halls, nodding to the men he passed. Some of them were so stoned from the alcohol that had been flying about at the party they couldn't walk straight, not even after a shower, and several staggered about in groups, stumbling and laughing at each other. _And I doubt he's out here in the hallways..._

He stopped by the library.

"Cloud Strife? Oh, yes, he was here two hours ago."

He stopped by the cafeteria.

"Strife? The scrawny kid? He came in for a salad awhile ago. He ate it in a hurry; I think you just missed him. Sorry."

Zack stopped outside of the cafeteria and thought for a few seconds. He had already checked two of the most likely places. Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he glanced at the nearest wall clock to make sure. Nodding to himself, he headed to the SOLDIER training gyms. He went up to the observation level and walked along the hallway, and, sure enough, one of the doors was cracked slightly open. Zack peeked in, and there was Cloud, staring down at the training gym's floor. For a few moments, Zack stood there in the doorway, taking in the sight.

Out of all of the boys and young men Zack had seen wander into the SOLDIER academy, there were very few that had caught his attention as quickly as Cloud had. If for nothing else, his looks were just too damned effeminate to be real. The boy had a slender frame, apparent even now in his trainee T-shirt and shorts, and his muscles were lean and sleek. His complexion was pale, beautifully so, not sickly pale or intolerantly fair, but simply perfect. There were no blemishes, no scars, and the boy's limbs were nearly hairless. Then there was the face, and the golden, wild crown of hair, and the long bangs that always seemed to try to hide the expressive, beautiful blue eyes...

Yes, when he had first seen the kid, Zack didn't think he could possibly be real. Then again, Zack had once thought that of the Great Sephiroth.

Well.

Cloud was leaning forward slightly, his hands tightly gripping the railing of the observation deck as he stared down, silently, at the gym floor. The blue eyes were wide and completely focused, and the mouth slightly parted. There was just something about him that made him seem completely vulnerable, and it was because of that vulnerability that Zack had taken the recruit under his wing. He still hadn't gotten his request to transfer the kid into his squad cleared yet, but he was working on it.

Glad the observation decks were private rooms to themselves and were separated from the training gyms by glass windows, Zack quietly stepped in and closed the door. Cloud did not appear to even notice him, and Zack smiled as he ambled closer to his new friend.

Completely absorbed, as usual, Zack thought, and with a small smile stood behind his friend. Looking down over the soft spikes of hair, Zack saw exactly who he knew would be down there on the gym floor, the one man who had captured Cloud's heart and soul, and sadly didn't even know that Cloud existed. It was Sephiroth, twirling Masamune expertly about his body as he danced across the floor, defeating imaginary foes in his mind as he went through the sword forms flawlessly. Zack grinned, knowing he'd have to drop a visit on his older friend; the two hadn't really seen each other for a day, and in Zack's opinion that was one day too long. He considered it part of his duty to bug The General on a daily basis, if not outrightly flirt, tease, or joke with the man.

Funny, how Cloud didn't quite believe his claims that he was the Commander's friend.

Pushing Sephiroth out of his mind--but not completely, it was impossible to push the silver-haired warrior completely out of one's mind--Zack returned his attention to Cloud, who was still caught in rapt attention... and so blissfully unaware of his presence.

Thus, he was completely susceptible to a few well-placed fingers to his ticklish spots.

Cloud yelped, and immediately twisted around to see Zack there, grinning like a fiend. As soon as he saw Zack, he relaxed somewhat, but his eyes darted to the door once as if trying to calculate if he could reach it before Zack did. Of course, knowing escape was useless, the boy resigned himself to his fate and relaxed. And smiled a little, too.

"Why dontcha smile more often, Cloud?" Zack asked, putting his hands on his hips and leaning down to look at Cloud's eyes more easily.

"I... I smile... sometimes..." Cloud mumbled, averting his eyes again.

"Yeah, but it's not nearly enough. Haven't I told you enough times that you're too cute not to smile? And where were you earlier today? I thought I'd see you at the party."

"Oh, I had... I had other stuff to do, really, I didn't have the... have the time..." Cloud was stumbling too much over his words, and Zack saw that light blush starting.

"C'mon, Cloud, I know you're lying. What's your real reason for not going to the party, huh? I promise I won't tell anyone else, if you don't want me to." Secrecy was an important part of their relationship. If Zack kept all of Cloud's secrets to himself, then that helped Cloud's trust in him grow, and the more it grew, the more open Cloud was with him. Secrecy and honesty. The kid was about as hard to handle as Sephiroth.

Cloud did seem to become more embarrassed, and licked his lips before admitting, "I... I don't know how to swim..." The boy swallowed, as if he had just told his worst enemy his secret weakness.

Zack blinked. "Is that all?"

"Is that all?!" Cloud said, looking up at him accusingly. "Zack, I'm already considered to be such a weak, pathetic, spineless..." There was frustration in the young voice, now, and that frustration and normally concealed anger gave the voice a hard edge that Zack hated to hear. "Do you think I want all of the academy knowing I can't swim, too?!"

Zack planted his hands on Cloud's shoulders, spun the boy around, and pointed down to the silver-haired man still practicing in the gym. "Cloud, take a nice, long look down there. Who is that, hmm?"

"...Sephiroth..." The whisper was small again, and still a little hesitant.

"Okay. Now listen to me. Do you wanna know what Sephiroth likes to do the most, besides swordplay?" Cloud nodded instantly, and Zack grinned. He already had Cloud baited. The kid was so easy to manipulate, if one used the right name. "Here's a secret for you, just from me to you. Sephiroth enjoys swimming. He just hates to do it in front of lots of people. That's why you'll almost never see him at any of the pool parties, except to occasionally mingle with the men. But, you know what...? On certain nights of the week, he goes for a swim in the pool. I know, I've swam with him before."

Cloud's eyes widened with the prospect alone. Zack could already see the kid's imagination in full swing, the gears turning in his head to produce a vivid picture of his idol swimming at night in the pool.

"He... Sephiroth... He likes to swim...?" Cloud bit his lower lip, now, then looked up at Zack. "But, I don't know how, and no one around here would ever teach me..."

Zack felt his grin broadening. "I will. We'll even do it at night, when none of the other troopers are out at the pool, so that way I can teach you without you worrying about being seen."

"But you just said--"

"I said on certain weeknights. I know when he goes for swims and when he doesn't. We'll just go on the nights when he doesn't swim. That way you won't get embarrassed."

"But the pool's right next to the courtyard, and all of the barrack windows--"

"The trees and hedges at the edge of the pool and courtyard usually block most sound from traveling, and they also block all of the views from the barrack windows. You'll be safe, trust me."

"Are... are you sure...?" Cloud said, still uncertain.

Zack placed one hand over his heart and the other high in the air. "I solemnly swear upon my honor as a Soldier that I shall not intentionally embarrass you by teaching you swimming lessons." He then relaxed, grinning again as he mentally added, _Much._

Cloud warily returned Zack's smile with his own. "When do we start?"

"How about tonight? Meet me at the pool's entrance, at about 2100 hours. Got that?"

"Yes, sir...! Thank you, Zack!"

"Sure thing, kiddo. You know I'll do whatever I can to help you out. Now, you better get out of here before Sephiroth stops; I was planning on meeting him after his practice today."

***

Cloud was walking down the halls when he heard a voice call his name. He looked up, surprised to see Ames Jennison walking hurriedly toward him. Ames Jennison was another new recruit, like himself, and though they were not quite friends, Cloud had allowed Ames closer than most others. If Zack had been there, he would have recognized Ames as one of the boys standing with the other "outcasts" at the side of the pool. He was quiet, but bright, and from what Cloud knew was well on his way to becoming a member of SOLDIER.

In any case, Ames was probably the most outgoing out of all of their fellow outcasts. It might have had something to do with his height; the kid had already hit the time of growth spurts, and, therefore, towered nearly a full head over Cloud. He was thin and lanky, but his training was already adding more muscle to his limbs, and Cloud had the sinking feeling that Ames would probably make it into SOLDIER. There was just something about him that reminded him of Zack.

Ames caught up to him and they stopped, both of them glancing up and down the halls to make sure no one else saw them. Ames then looked down at Cloud, worriedly running a hand through his short crop of brown hair.

"Cloud, don't go back to your dorm room right now," Ames warned him, softly. "One of the other guys in your dorm... Danis...? Yeah, well, he's invited all of his buddies to your dorm room. That means You-Know-Who will be there, too."

"You-Know-Who" was their quiet, secret name for Frederick Gunther, another SOLDIER candidate who also happened to be Heidegger's nephew. Besides that, Gunther was a bully with his own group of lackeys. He brown-nosed his way through most of his academic classes, and simply beat the hell out of all of his opposition in his physical classes. And, for some reason, Gunther hated Cloud. That had been clear the first day Cloud had set foot on the campus, and during the "initiation" night Gunther had been drunk and his friends had decided that Cloud made a good target. Cloud had managed to escape from the fight with only a few bruises, but ever since then Gunther's Gang had been looking for any opportunities to finish what they had started. Cloud had managed to avoid them, so far, but with one of his dorm roommates recently being brought into the Gang... It was getting harder and harder to escape the possible beatings.

Cloud nodded, his eyes dropping to study the floor. "Thanks, Ames... for the warning..."

"Hey, don't worry about it. Actually... well..." Ames looked around again, then nodded down the hall. "Quick, let's go out to the courtyard. There's gotta be an empty corner in there where we can hide for a moment. I need to tell you something else, too. My friend Keith heard about it, first, and we thought we ought to let you know."

The blond nodded, and followed Ames as the taller boy went quickly down the halls. There were still a few guys lagging around the halls, but those who weren't crashed in the safety of their dorms had probably escaped to Midgar, to spend the rest of their night off doing things considerably more interesting than sleeping or studying. The two jogged out to the courtyard, and, sure enough, found the corner mostly populated by trees and high hedges. Safely hidden there, Ames took to pacing briskly, and Cloud wondered what had been so important that the recruit had led him out here in the first place.

"Ames..." Cloud started, and finally the boy stopped his pacing long enough to look at Cloud sideways.

"I'm just trying to find a gentle way to say it, but..." Ames ran his hand through his hair again. "There is no gentle way to say it. Look, Keith overheard Gunther gloating to his lackeys about how he was going to make you pay once and for all..."

"Gunther's been saying that ever since I escaped the first time," Cloud said, "so how is this time any different?"

"Look... You're a friend of Zack, right? That Soldier?"

"Maybe. Why?"

"Are you really good friends? Really?"

Cloud blinked, a slight frown on his face. "Why?"

Ames shrugged, rolling his shoulders back before looking Cloud in the eyes and saying, "Gunther thinks you're sleeping with Zack in order to get into SOLDIER easy. He said you were nothing but a little whore. And, he said he was going to fix you up good this time, and he said he was going to..." His voice trailed off, averting his eyes. "Yeah, that's what he said. And Keith told me, 'cause he's worried about you."

Cloud was silent for a long time. "...Gunther said it, huh?"

"Yeah. In no uncertain terms, either. Strife, if I were you, I wouldn't go anywhere alone. Not anywhere. Gunther's goons are all over the place, and they're just itching to catch you when you don't expect it, and if they do..." The taller boy shook his head. "None of us have friends. You and I both know that. And if one of us gets into trouble, no one is going to help us out."

Cloud looked down, averting his eyes. "Zack and I haven't done anything... anything like that."

The silence stretched out between them, and Ames frowned at Cloud, knowing what the other boy was thinking.

It was hard for any recruit not to know something of the "adult world," not when they were so close to Midgar, not when many of the Soldiers themselves seemed to enjoy such a thing, whether it be with women or men. But still, Cloud had been able to block most talk of it from his mind, and usually whenever he heard anyone start he'd pointedly ignore the conversation. Thus, in most ways, Cloud was still the most naive out of all of them.

Thus, in several more ways, Cloud was still the most vulnerable of them. And, while Ames thought he trusted Zack, he knew that the blond-headed boy was still very wary.

"Maybe you haven't, Cloud, but do you honestly believe that Gunther and his Gang won't think that of you, anyway, no matter who tells them otherwise?"

Cloud turned away. "Thank you, Ames... I'll keep what you said in mind."

Ames nodded as the blond pushed his way back out of the courtyard. "See that you do, Strife." Shaking his head, Ames shoved his hands deep down into his pockets and breathed heavily. "...See that you do."

***

After Ames's warning, Cloud walked down the halls silently, always making sure that there was someone, some face he recognized, on that same hallway. At the moment, there was a strength to be found in hiding among others, others who, though they were not his friends, did not care for Gunther and certainly would not tolerate something that looked more like a massacre than a mere brawl.

He stopped by the library again, lingering there and reading more of the books before finally heading toward the dorm room, secretly dreading each step but refusing to show the fear on his face. He hesitated at the door only slightly, but, judging from the sounds of the two voices inside, Danis and Gunther's Gang had already left.

The moment he unlocked and opened the door, the two voices fell silent for a time. Two different pairs of eyes watched as he trundled across the room to his bunk, the top bunk closest to one of the windows, and once there he clambered up the ladder and lay down, shutting his eyes.

"Where's Danis?" he asked.

"Dunno. Went with Gunther to Midgar, prob'ly." The answer was short, and his two roommates suddenly had their heads together, glancing up at him and whispering. Even with his eyes closed, Cloud could feel their gazes on him, and he hated it. He hated the way they looked at him. As if... as if he were...

He turned onto his other side, pointedly ignoring them, and stared at the window to watch the dwindling daylight. Time passed, Danis did not reappear at their dorm, and sometime in the dark Cloud heard his other two roommates get into their own bunks. One of them started his typical snoring, and the other was certainly asleep. Cloud turned over again, stared at one of the digital clocks nearby on the wall, and saw that it was almost time to meet Zack.

Cloud rolled off the bunk, landing lightly on his feet, and quickly changed out of his clothes. He pulled on the only thing he had that passed for swim trunks, which were simple dark blue gym shorts, and then slipped on a casual T-shirt and a pair of old, faded jeans. If he managed to get them wet, then it wouldn't matter. And if anyone who might have seen him asked him tomorrow morning, then he knew his answer would be only a simple shrug. From him, that was enough to satisfy most people. Perhaps no one would notice or even care to wonder, and he hoped no one realized he had slipped one of the Shinra standard towels out with him, before grabbing his spare keycard and padding silently out of the dorm room.

The barracks were very quiet at that time at night. Most men were either asleep in their dorms or still spending the night in Midgar, or perhaps they were off at the dormitory showers. Whatever the reason, however, there were very few of them out now, and none seemed to wonder where Cloud was going; they ignored him, and he was used to it, so it was fine. Eventually, he made it out to the courtyard, and was surprised to find Zack standing in the middle of it, checking his watch impatiently. Zack looked up the moment he heard the door close behind Cloud, and grinned before waving him over.

"C'mon! I was wondering if you had chickened out on me or somethin'." Throwing an arm around Cloud's shoulders, Zack happily led Cloud to the pool's gate, and soon proclaimed, "All right, Cloud. Welcome to Aquatic Maneuvers 101!"

***

Another simple day in the lifestyle of the Commander of SOLDIER. Despite the fact that all of SOLDIER had been granted a day off by his truly, he alone had to put up with paperwork and silly executive requests by Shinra's bungling superior officers and...

Letting out a soft sigh, Sephiroth simply turned up the volume of his sound system, letting the simple, repetitive melody of string quartet's canon soothe his thoughts. He enjoyed the classics, and while Zack occasionally forced him to listen to something a little more modern, Sephiroth had been pleasantly surprised to discover that Zack enjoyed the classics, as well. Yes, it had been nice, and Zack was always a welcoming part of his existence.

Though Zack had seemed a little troubled, today.

Shrugging it off, Sephiroth sat down in the armchair beside his high windows, staring out at the night sky. It was a little easier to see it out here, at the academy campus, and for that reason alone he certainly enjoyed spending time out here. Even if it was to train the recruits, again and again, failing most and accepting only a few, waiting for the cycle to repeat again... monotonous, with only a few, rare exceptions... very few... such as Zack... and Zack's slowly growing number of prodigies that always seemed to be nurtured in his squad...

Another advantage to his position here was that, here, he was the highest. His office and quarters were built up an entire story above the other barracks, and thus he was the only one with a fairly good view of the courtyard and pool. In fact, the pool was located directly below his windows, and at any time he could look out and see the moon reflected on its surface... so inviting...

But tonight was not one of the nights he set aside for swimming.

A playful laugh came from the other side of the window, muffled by the glass. Sephiroth frowned slightly, recognizing that laugh like he recognized the blade of Masamune. He leaned over, reaching with one hand and unlatching the window. Opening it a mere inch, Sephiroth looked down and was surprised to find Zack in the pool, beckoning to... someone else.

 _Zackary, what are you doing at this time of night in the pool?_

He had gotten used to the fact that some people took advantage of the pool's near-concealment, had gotten used to occasionally hearing the sounds of gratification and erotic indulgement, though generally that had stopped when he had accidentally walked in on one of those meetings on his own way to the pool for a swim. Ever since then, most of those couples had taken to meeting at the dorm's showers, which served just as well at this time of night.

But Zack had never used the pool like that before. Not with anyone else but him, that is.

Curious, and denying what was surely a nudge of jealousy, Sephiroth focused his eyes more clearly on what Zack was saying, and on the character he was speaking to...

...a mysteriously familiar blond boy, and even from here Sephiroth could tell he had blue eyes. Such beautiful, bright blue eyes. Astonishing azure.

"Just kick off and swim. Don't think about it. Just remember to try to keep your limbs underwater as you stroke; the less splashing you do, the better. It means you're pushing more water."

The blond boy protested slightly. "Zack, I've never--"

"That's why we're out here, remember? Now, kick off and swim to me. I'll catch you, I promise."

"You really will?"

"Yes! Now, hurry up. You can't waste all night just gripping onto the stair rail. Come on!"

The jealousy faded instantly. Swimming lessons. His friend was teaching this boy--or rather, trying to teach him--how to swim. He watched with amusement as the blond did push off of the stairway and floated more than swam to Zack's waiting arms. After Zack carried the boy back to the stairs, he backed farther away, coaxing Cloud to come out a little bit farther each time. The boy hadn't managed to handle much more than a dog paddle, but he seemed to be a little bit more composed than earlier.

That is, until Zack started backing away while the boy was still swimming.

"Zack, you said you'd catch me!"

"Uh-huh, and I will, once you get to me."

"No, don't go any farther, I can't--"

"Yes, you can. Look, I'm right here, just keep going."

"Zack--!"

Sephiroth let a smile grace his features, something he rarely let happen anywhere besides the sanctum of his quarters, and closed the windows again. Chuckling, he slipped into his own bed, and mentally wished Zack's pupil good luck.


	2. Initiation

Cloud yawned as he stopped in the middle of the hall, sleepy eyes closing briefly. He absently rubbed the sleep away, wishing he could have spent longer that night in the library studying for his test that Monday. Well, at least it wasn't one of his nights for swimming lessons...

Though, those had been very fun, and he had enjoyed spending the time with Zack--

"Well, well... Looks like Danis hadn't been lying when he said someone went to the library to study... Heh."

The sound of that voice brought any coherent thinking to an immediate halt, and he turned around to see several frighteningly familiar faces leering at him, especially the one in the front; Gunther's smirk was the most threatening of them all.

His lips moved but not a sound came out, and so Cloud did the only thing his panicked mind could think of... He ran like hell.

"Quick, get him!"

The panic had ensnared his mind in a tight vise, and he had no idea where he was running, where his feet were taking him. He only heard the heavy pounding of Gunther's Gang behind him as they followed him, one getting close enough to reach him with a knife, a sharp cut against his shoulder, and he forced himself to go faster. He could think of only one place where it might be possible for him to hide, and he immediately sped down the corridor that would take him to the courtyard...

***

The pool was quiet that evening. It was exactly how he liked it.

There was nothing quite as relaxing as resting against the side of the pool, letting the soothing sounds of the water--

He heard one of the far doors across the courtyard slam shut, and could just make out something falling onto the grass, some sort of scuffling going on... which, normally, meant that someone was planning on having a "fun time" out in the courtyard. Probably a couple of recruits; Soldiers, once they thought they were alone, could get rowdy at times.

Sephiroth looked up, his eyes immediately resting on a point beyond the pool's protective fence of hedges. He listened, and he stared, wondering why, again, that a couple had to get the idea that the courtyard was a great place to do it while he was swimming. Gods, would he have to humiliate some poor fools again--

"Heh, looks like we finally caught ya, you piece of shit."

The silver-haired man paused. _Wait a second. That was definitely not a phrase appropriate in the act of..._ His thoughts trailing off, Sephiroth quietly emerged fully from the pool, and snatched his black robe off the nearest lawn chair. _What is going on?_

"Look at him! The little whore's actually shaking!"

"Guess you're scared now, eh, you fuckin' gay slut...!"

This was accented by what sounded like a loud slap, and Sephiroth heard a whimper that seemed to come in a vaguely familiar voice. He went to the pool's gate and eased it open, willing it be silent as he drew closer to the culprits and their victim. He was not going to allow any such a beating to take place in his academy on his campus, not if he had anything to say or do about it.

As he drew closer, he saw what appeared to be a group of ten young men, young enough to be recruits, and they had all formed a semi-circle. He came closer, his anger increasing with each moment when he saw one of the recruits bent over their victim, and he could hear the disgusting sneer in the recruit's voice.

"Think you're gonna make it into SOLDIER by acting the perfect little bitch, huh? Well, we'll see about that, won't we? Let's see exactly how much you'll like it when I fuck you, huh?"

Scarcely concealing his rage behind a stoic face of steel, Sephiroth stepped past the first man in the semi-circle, ignoring the hiss of surprise the boy let out when he realized they had been caught red-handed.

"Gunther...!" It was a pathetic squeak, and the recruit looming over their victim turned around, one hand still grasping himself when he suddenly saw Sephiroth.

"Oh, SHIT!"

Sephiroth grabbed Gunther by the shoulder and roughly shoved him away, growling an order in a cold voice, "Get out. Now." As the idiots turned tail and scattered, Sephiroth turned his attention down to the poor thing laying broken on the grass, face turned down toward the soil. Still, Sephiroth recognized the golden hair and the slight body without needing to see the face. It was the same boy that he had seen with Zack, the one Zack had been teaching how to swim... He lay half-curled on the ground, quivering all over, his shirt missing and his pants torn open. The fair skin harbored so many bruises and welts that Sephiroth could hardly believe the boy wasn't crying aloud, or hadn't even attempted to cry for help...

He did not reach down and touch the boy's back, like he wanted to, knowing that even that touch of assurance might be mistaken for a touch of another kind. Instead, he bent down beside the boy, and said, "You're safe now. They're gone."

As if hearing the sound of his voice hurt, the boy beneath him shook even more violently. He bit his lower lip so tightly that it began to bleed, and Sephiroth reached down and touched his shoulder, carefully, afraid the blond would hurt himself.

"Didn't you hear me? You're safe, now. You should not be afraid anymore."

The words fell on deaf ears, and Sephiroth felt pity; pity and something else, something he could not quite identify, and so he dismissed it. He had something more important to take care of, at the moment, and he reached down and took the boy into his arms. The boy curled against him, seeking comfort in the warmth, and he finally seemed to be coming back to himself, now... coming back from whatever place it was he had retreated into, to escape the pain. Sephiroth honestly didn't know of a place to take the boy, not immediately. For some reason, he didn't want to be seen completely alone with the boy, not like this, and he swiftly went back to the pool gate. Closing it quickly behind them, he put the fair-headed child back down, onto one of the chairs, and knelt beside the pale, shivering form.

Frightened blue eyes, even more shocking because of the fear, stared at him, and yet the fear seemed to mask another emotion entirely, something buried so deeply in the depthless ocean that Sephiroth couldn't help but feel intrigued. He placed a hand alongside the boy's face, felt the smooth planes and angles fit so well against his skin, and continued to look the boy in the eyes.

"Tell me your name."

"Cloud... Cloud Strife, sir..." Weak voice, so strange, not quite like the voice he had heard when the boy was with Zack. No, not just "boy" anymore... Cloud.

"Strife, rest here. I'm going to call Zackary and have him bring a restore materia. You should not move." He paused, nearly standing, but instead asked delicately, "He did not touch you, did he?"

Eyes widened, then shut and turned away... but there came a slight shake of the head.

"Be thankful, then, that they had not gotten that far."

 _But I am certain that it was far enough._ Keeping back a growl and forcing down a brief spark of memory--rage and denial creeping back like some hellbent demons--Sephiroth stood and went to one of the campus phones, in a box conveniently placed against one of the nearby walls. He dialed a number he knew by heart, and listened as the tone rang. Once. Twice. Not long after the third time, a groggy voice yawned and drawled out:

"I hope you fucking well know what time it is, you sorry son of a bitch, for waking me up when I--"

"Give it up, Zackary."

The weariness vanished entirely. "Seph! Gah, I'm sorry, I didn't know it was you and--"

"I'm down at the pool. Come immediately and bring a restore materia."

"What is it?"

"It's your friend. Cloud Strife. I'll tell you more once you arrive."

"Cloud?! Oh, by Holy, I'll be right there!"

Sephiroth hung up the phone, closed the metal box, and went back to the chair. He didn't have long to wait before he heard the gate swing open, and Zack was at his side, looking down at Cloud without bothering to hide his worry.

"What happened?! Seph, what happened to him?" Zack knelt down, reaching with both arms to embrace Cloud and hold him for a few seconds, whispering comforting things, while preparing the restore spell. Cloud groaned softly as the spell went to work, a soft sheen of light appearing over his injuries as they healed. As soon as the spell was finished, Zack stood, carrying Cloud in his arms, and the dark-headed man looked at his old friend with scarcely-concealed rage in his eyes. "Seph, answer me! What happened?"

"I'm not entirely sure. All I know is that I was out here for my swim, and heard noises coming from the courtyard. I went to discover what was going on, and I stumbled across this boy and his assailants. There was a fairly large number of them."

Zack's eyes narrowed. "Damn. And they...?"

"Apparently." Sephiroth concealed his own anger and knew that Zack could easily see it, but he didn't care. "I happened upon them just as their leader was about to rape him. It looked as if they were all recruits. In any case, he probably needs to go someplace safe tonight, and I figured that your dorm--since you appear to be a good friend of his--would probably be the best for him, at the moment."

An odd, slightly confused expression crossed Zack's face, but before he could speak they both heard the sound of approaching footsteps. They both turned, glaring at the intruder, but were immediately surprised to see Ames standing there. Zack recognized him instantly, and quickly said, "Jennison, what are you doing out here?"

Ames was staring at the limp form in Zack's arms, dark cobalt eyes widening. "No... Gunther didn't...! He--!" The recruit ran to them, but was stopped when Sephiroth snapped a command.

"Explain this to us, soldier! Immediately!"

The recruit stopped, eyes riveting to Sephiroth's own. "Sir... I..." He dropped his head, swallowing before continuing. "There's a recruit, sir... Frederick Gunther... and ever since Cloud managed to escape a fight with him, Gunther's been absolutely crazy... He wanted to end the battle, but every single time, Cloud managed to elude him. Then he caught wind of the rumor that Cloud and Zack were friends, sir, and that seemed to make him angrier than anything. One of my friends overheard Gunther telling his Gang what he was going to do, and we warned Cloud, but..." Ames shook his head again before looking up at Zack. "Sir, didn't he tell you at all about it?"

Zack shook his head. "I knew about that first scrape with Gunther, of course; I helped Cloud escape that first time. But this... This is..." He looked down at Cloud, the boy's body completely motionless in his arms.

"He can't go back to his dorm, sir," Ames said quickly, "because one of his roommates is part of Gunther's Gang!"

"He would be safe in Donovan's quarters, wouldn't he?" Sephiroth asked quietly. Ames bowed his head again, shaking it.

"No, sir, I doubt that would be wise, sir. Gunther has it stuck in his head that Cloud has been with Zack in order to get into SOLDIER, and if he finds out that Cloud went to Zack's quarters after this incident, then..."

"I see." Sephiroth frowned slightly, crossing his arms. "Well, it is obvious we can't just let him go back to his dorm, not even for this night."

Zack nodded in agreement, and turned his gaze back to Ames. "Jennison, do you have any idea...?"

"Yes, sir." Ames jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "My friend and I occupy a dorm room nearby here. We were put in a four-person room, but there's just the two of us. Cloud could easily stay there, until we manage something. Keith won't mind, I'm sure."

"Donovan, see to it that Strife is taken to Jennison's quarters safely," Sephiroth ordered, already walking away. "I'll look into this matter myself."

***

"This the place?" Zack asked quietly, and Ames nodded and knocked on the door. It opened slightly, and then the door was pulled wide open. Zack smiled at Ames's slightly shorter roommate, but Keith looked down at the still figure in Zack's arms.

"Oh, no... Gunther..." He stepped back, and motioned them in. Ames led Zack to one of the unused bunks, and the powerful Soldier delicately placed Cloud down on the mattress. Cloud curled up on his side, shivering even after Zack tucked the light covers around him, and it was with unease visible on his face that Zack turned back to Ames.

"Are you sure this is okay, Jennison?" Zack asked, quietly. "Cloud would hate to feel as if he was forcing any sort of inconvenience on anyone, you know, and I don't know what he would think about waking up in a completely unfamiliar place. I'm not sure what he's going to be like when he wakes up, so..."

Ames nodded. "Don't worry, sir. Keith and I will take good care of him. He knows us, so hopefully he won't panic, and we won't let any of Gunther's Gang know about him staying here. I promise, sir."

The dark-haired Soldier stared at the sleeping form on the bunk a moment longer, then turned to the others. "You had better, Jennison. If I find out that you haven't kept your promise..." His voice was full of icy rage, and Ames nodded quickly before Zack left the room. Once he was gone, the two roommates looked at each other.

"I don't think I've ever seen Zack so upset the entire time we've been here," Keith murmured.

Ames nodded, then gestured to the other low bunk. "Well, we can't discuss what's happened now. Tomorrow, maybe?"

Keith glanced at Cloud uncertainly. "Maybe. Are you sure we should--"

"It's okay. Just don't worry about it and let's get some sleep."

***

Cloud stared at the wall ahead of him, unfocused, seeing nothing but darkness in various shades of gray, unsure of what to think. There was just this inescapable presence of fear, lurking in his mind, along with its horrible companion, a snide voice that kept taunting him.

 _That's right. The first time Sephiroth notices you, and it's right as you're about to get fucked. Woulda been flattering enough if he had seen you while you were being beaten, huh? Stupid whimpering, whining baby. Can't even take care of yourself, can you? Now you know you'll never get into SOLDIER. Never._

Cloud shut his eyes, trembled, wavering for a few seconds on the border between mad hysteria and weeping.

A hand on his shoulder and he was startled, curling tighter into a fetal position and wishing desperately he could crawl away into some dark hole and just end his misery.

"Strife...? I know you're awake..." A pause. The hand retreated. There was a spark of relief, but it was instantly smothered when he could feel that person leaning over his bunk. "Strife, it's me, Ames. Jennison. Listen, we're not going to hurt you, here. We're not like Frederick and his sick troop of freaks, okay?"

"Go away..."

"Strife... No, Cloud, listen to me. Those bastards might have gotten close, but they didn't actually get to you. I heard the Commander and Donovan themselves; they said so, they said Gunther didn't really get you--"

"They came close enough," Cloud whispered, hotly, his body clenching even more tightly. "I didn't want him to see me like that, I didn't want him to see... me...! I'm such a weakling...!"

"That's what this is all about, isn't it...?" Ames shook his head, looking down at Cloud with some unreadable expression in his eyes. "It's not the fact that they managed to catch you, not the fact that they abused you, or were about to... It's not the fact that you were scared... It's because he was the one that saved you, right? Sephiroth?"

No noise, no sound of acknowledgement, but Ames could tell by the silence that he was right on the mark. With something of a small smile, he said, "You know, Cloud... You really do have a rotten time trying to hide it. Keith and I... some of the others... We all know. Out of all of us, you really do worship the ground he walks on, don't you?"

"...stop it..."

"Stop what?"

"Just... stop... Stop teasing me... stop acting as if you were my friend!" Cloud finally did look up, a pale fury in his eyes. "You don't know anything, you don't understand anything about me, so stop it!"

"The only reason why I don't understand," Ames murmured, "is because you're so paranoid about other people that you won't let anyone close enough to be your friend...!"

"Hey... Ames...?" The groggy voice came from across the room, and Ames quickly looked to his friend. "What's going on?"

"Go back to sleep, Keith. I was just talking to Cloud."

Keith blinked owlishly at Ames, then shrugged. "Yes, sir..." He rolled over, and Ames looked back down at Cloud.

"Now, listen, Cloud... I don't know how all of this happened... I won't pretend to understand what's so wrong in your world that you're acting like this, now, but... Listen to reality. Even if Sephiroth hadn't seen what had happened tonight, do you honestly think it would matter? Do you honestly think you could become a Soldier like Zack, and actually get close to the Commander? He's out of your reach, Cloud, he's far out of your reach. No one, nothing can reach him. And you're a fool if you had ever thought he would ever take any notice of you at all. So, my advice to you is this: Forget it. Forget everything that happened tonight, and forget about your obsession with Sephiroth. If it's driving you into acting like this, then you're much better off without it. Concentrate about living long enough to take the SOLDIER exams, all right?"

And with that, Ames turned and stalked away, leaving Cloud alone on the bunk. Cloud remained unmoving for a long time, slow tears leaking their way from his eyes, and finally the boy shut his eyes.

But he could not sleep, for fear that Ames's words were right.

***

Zack had found it hard to sleep that night. Even when he had gone to Sephiroth and asked that something be done immediately, Sephiroth looked at him, his cold expression hiding something of a helpless gleam in his eyes as he said, "I went to Heidegger himself about his nephew's insurrection. He told me to never bother him again with such nonsense."

He had bristled at that statement, but Sephiroth had shook his head and turned away. "I'm sorry, Zackary. But if I move against Gunther, then Heidegger will do something that we will all regret, I fear. We know how stupid the man can be in his anger."

He could do nothing but nod in silent agreement, and simmer deep down as he thought about it. _Oh, but if Seph or I catch you again, Gunther... You're gonna spend the rest of your life stuck in some discrete little medical center, being fed through a little plastic tube 'cause there ain't gonna be much of you left... Punk._

Unable to sleep, unable to do much else but worry about his friend's condition, Zack had acquired Sephiroth's immediate permission that Cloud Strife be transferred into his squad and into his protection. Of course, he realized that this might put the rumor mill into full spin, but he didn't care. At the moment, Cloud's safety was the most important thing to him.

So, it was in the early hours of the morning that Zack got up and made his way to Ames and Keith's dorm room, pausing outside the door. He realized he had no idea just what to say to Cloud, just what he might do to help the boy. Muttering under his breath, Zack summoned up his courage and knocked smartly on the door. It wasn't long before he heard the door being unlocked, and wary, hazel eyes peeked out long enough to stare up at him.

"Donovan, sir?"

"Keith Gales? Yes, it's me, so stop gaping and open the door, please." As Keith hurried to comply, Zack stepped into the dorm room, his eyes immediately searching out the familiar form on the far bed, curled up and seemingly out of place in the otherwise normal dorm.

At his side, Keith shook his head. "Sir, I'm sorry, sir, but... He hasn't even moved since last night."

"Where's Jennison?"

"Already left. He got the early shift for guard duty out at the armory."

Zack nodded, then said, "Would you mind if I were alone with him for awhile?"

"Certainly, sir; I was just about to head over to the showers, myself." But there was a decidedly guilty look on Keith's face as he randomly grabbed a uniform from his closet and left the dorm, closing the door behind him with one last glance at Cloud. Zack did not move until he was absolutely certain that he was alone with Cloud, and then he went to the edge of the bed and stared down at the boy, almost afraid to touch him, afraid of what it might do. Finally, he sat down on the edge of the bed, and kept his voice down to a quiet murmur.

"You can stop pretending, Cloud. I know you're awake."

"...I feel sick. Lemme alone."

"Cloud, I know your first instinct is screaming at you like crazy to pull away from everything, but that's not going to help you out. You can't allow yourself to withdraw completely. Please, don't shrink back from me like that. It... it scares me."

The voice turned bitter. "First Class Soldier Zackary Donovan? Afraid? Afraid of... me? Ha. I don't believe it."

"What happened to you, Cloud? I know you were scared, but you got out of there in one piece, and--"

"Shut UP!" Cloud whirled on him, then, anger blazing in his eyes. "What? What am I supposed to do? My whole reason for coming to this place, my whole reason for trying to make it into SOLDIER... It died, Zack! Died! I... I'll never be worthy in his eyes, never! It... It was the last thing I had... the very last thing keeping me going... Now I'm even afraid to think about looking at him, because I'm so terrified..." Cloud had slumped back down in dejection, despair, the horrible emotions welling inside of him and threatening to pour out. A few, choked-back tears finally managed to make their way to the surface, and the frightened whisper said, "Zack... I've destroyed the only thing I've ever loved..."

Zack was quiet for a long time after hearing that quiet admission, and then said, "No. You haven't."

Bringing up his legs and wrapping his arms around his knees, Cloud closed his eyes and fought to hold back the sobs, the screams. Zack didn't make it any easier, especially when he carefully reached out and circled an arm around Cloud's shoulders. Cloud tried half-heartedly to pull away from the offered comfort, but there was something so inviting and so wonderful about that warmth... He gave up trying to hold back the tears; the flow became too powerful, and the next thing he knew he was crying, crying like he wanted to last night, and his whole body trembled with the quiet sobs, quiet but so loud in the empty room, and... and...

Zack didn't pull away from him. Zack didn't even look at him with disgust, like Cloud had so often feared, but instead wore something of a small, relieved smile on his face. Without any word of explanation, the dark-haired man turned and looped his other arm around Cloud, drawing him in and letting Cloud cry against his chest.

"That's it... you can cry now... I promise I won't turn away from you... You need this, now, you needed to do this last night... Thank the Planet you let it out..." There came something of a warm chuckle, and Cloud leaned back enough to look up at Zack, who gently raised one hand to wipe away the tears. "You know what? They weren't kidding when they evaluated you as 'self-destructive'. Gods, Cloud... You had me so worried."

"But... but I..."

A finger rested on his lips, stopping him, and Cloud blinked, realized now that he was sitting extremely close to the man, in something of a loose embrace, and if anyone came in to see them now... His face reddened, and Zack grinned at him.

"Listen, Cloud... Just because he saw you like that last night... doesn't mean Seph is going to automatically think of you as a worthless coward. Hell, kiddo, you were going up against how many other SOLDIER candidates? And they were all a lot bigger than you, I'm sure, and a lot stronger, too. If nothing else, Seph feels very angry about what happened. He considers it part of his responsibility to make sure that stuff like that doesn't happen here at the academy. Now, if anyone ever threatens to hurt you like that again, I want you to tell me. All right? And I'll go straight to Seph, and together the two of us will deal with the problem before anyone else gets hurt, okay? Okay, kid?"

Cloud blinked, quiet surprise creeping onto his face. "He... he doesn't... he doesn't hate..."

At that statement, Zack leaned his head back and laughed outright. "Hate you? Hate you, Cloud? Ha! If anything, my friend, I'd have to say your great idol seems to be a little fond of you!"

Wide eyes grew even wider at that, and Cloud wordlessly turned his eyes away, unable to believe... that it could be possible...

"Now, listen up, kiddo. We're moving you out of your dorm, today, so c'mon. As of today, you're going to be a part of my squad. After morning mess, I'm taking you back to your dorm, so we can grab your stuff, and then I'll show you where you'll be staying, now. Besides, I have to introduce you to the other guys. A lot of 'em would like to meet you." Clapping a hand against his shoulder, Zack stood up from the bunk. "Don't worry. It's early enough that there shouldn't be too many people in the mess hall--certainly not at 0600 hours on a Friday morning, anyway."

***

"Come on, you idiots, and introduce yourselves to our new buddy," Zack said, as the zeta squad lined up before him. Cloud looked at them all with something like surprise, easily intimidated by them. All of them had already been in the program for at least two years, and all of them were much taller and bigger than he was, and that made him feel small, insignificant, to them. But Zack had a comforting hand on his shoulder, still, and said, "Don't worry, Cloud. These guys might look tough, but really they're nothing more than a bunch of pussies."

The first one on the line snickered, and held up one hand as if it were a paw. "Nya, nya, sir! Meow!"

The other men laughed, and Zack rolled his eyes. "Alright, Clemson, if you're going to act the fool, then go ahead and introduce yourself."

The SOLDIER candidate stepped forward and took an exaggerated bow, then looked up and said with another grin, "James Clemson, at your service, and Zackary's second. Whenever the boss is off on an errand, I'm the guy in charge."

"Just so you know," Zack said, smirking as James smoothly slid back into place, "James just happens to be the biggest joker on the squad."

"No bigger than you, sir," James said.

"Pipe down and let the rest of them introduce themselves, Clemson!"

"Heh, aye, aye, sir!"

The candidate standing beside Clemson also came forward, nodding his head slightly. "Thomas Ruggard. You can call me Tom. I room with James."

One-by-one they went down the line, and Cloud listened to each one, picking up every movement of their body language.

"Colin Matreyas."

"Alec Kalwin, nice to meetcha!"

"Dustin Sawyer, a pleasure."

"Harold Finn, how are ya?"

"Gregory Alcott. Just call me Greg."

"Joseph McClain."

"Bernard Williams. Howdy."

"Jeremy Valon, the only cook on this squad besides our commander, there."

"Garrison Tar. I have the luck of rooming with Jeremy, here, even if he is a smart ass."

"Now, now, men, be nice," Zack said with a good-natured chuckle. He gave Cloud a small nudge forward. "And this is Cloud Strife. He's one of the new recruits, here, so we're going to do our best to make sure he likes the academy and will make it into SOLDIER, just like the rest of you."

The zeta squad saluted all at once, saying smartly, "Sir, yes, sir!"

"Good. Now, I know some of you have some duties to attend to, so get outta here. The rest of you, dismissed!"

The squad departed, and Zack and Cloud both watched them go. Then, Cloud turned and looked up at his friend curiously. Zack saw this, and with an easy smile asked, "What is it? Don't tell me they've scared you already."

Cloud blinked. "No, not really. It's just... I wasn't expecting them to be so nice. I've heard of... of these 'initiation' things, and..."

"Oh, don't worry about that," Zack said, quickly. "There are some squads where, well... Sometimes it isn't really all that safe to join them, if you know what I mean. Because of those 'initiations.' But everyone on this squad knows better than that. The most we ever do are a few parties every now and then. The guys usually hang out with each other a lot, too. You'll see. After a little bit in this squad, you become part of a family. I think that's why zeta is seen as one of the best squads in the whole SOLDIER program." His older friend smiled down at him, doubly reassuring. "You see, we don't just work with each other, we live for each other."

"Live... for each other...?"

"You make it sound like it's a totally new concept," joked Zack, as he took Cloud back to their room. It was only when he was answered with silence that it occurred to Zack that, perhaps in Cloud's world, it really was a completely new concept, but when he looked down, he only saw Cloud looking with interest at the nameplate on the dorm's door.

"'Donovan, Z. Soldier, First.'" Cloud's eyes slid to the empty slot beneath the first nameplate, and then up to Zack. "Will I get one, too? My last dorm only had our last names on it."

"Of course. I haven't had the time to get it, that's all. Now, I know it's kinda messy, but--"

"This is 'kinda messy'?! Zack, I can't see the floor anywhere!"

"It's there. Underneath the clothes, I mean."

"How do you live in this? Gods, even with the others, at least they kept their messes confined to their bunks... Maa, Zack-kun, my Mother would kill me if she saw a mess like this..."

"...It's not that bad."


	3. Kiss and Tell

A month passed, and as Sephiroth walked down the hallways, thoroughly annoyed, he couldn't help but wonder why his friend had to be so elusive at times. He had hunted for Zack everywhere, and he had yet to find out exactly where his friend had run off to. So, in desperation, he was going to check the most least likely place... Zack's dorm.

Besides, even if Zack wasn't there, then Zack's roommate would be there, and Sephiroth wouldn't mind seeing the blond-headed boy again. He mused, thinking about last night, when he had stayed up to watch Zack give his new roommate another swimming lesson. Cloud had improved greatly, and had now taken to racing Zack across the pool, and playing games with him in the water. Zack had also been trying to teach Cloud how to dive, but the teenager was having a harder time with that than anything else. Apparently, he just didn't like the thought of diving into the water head-first.

 _But sometimes the plunge is most welcome that way,_ Sephiroth thought, stopping in front of the dorm's door. His eyes lingered on the nameplates on the door, and the corner of his mouth quirked up in further amusement. Beside Zack's name, someone had taped up a strip of paper that said, "SOLDIER's biggest--" and someone else had scrawled hastily over the last word, with a giant black marker, so that even Sephiroth couldn't make it out. But he was pretty sure what it said, nonetheless.

Zack was a notorious flirt, after all.

He breathed a light sigh, then rapped smartly on the door. For a few seconds, there was no sound from inside, and then there came the click of a lock. The door slid open slightly, and a sleepy, bright blue eye peeked out at him, slowly moving up to his face. The eye widened, and immediately the young trooper squeaked, "S-s-sir!"

"Might I come in, Strife?" Sephiroth asked, hiding his small smile. "Or need I force open the door?"

Immediately the door slid completely open, and as he stepped into the relatively dark room, he caught a glance of young Cloud scrambling up the ladder to his bunk and practically diving beneath the covers.

 _Heh. Afraid, are you?_ It was becoming harder to hide his smile, and so he turned around to make sure the door slid shut completely. Zack had been complaining that the door hadn't been functioning correctly during the past few days, but it didn't seem to have any problem closing and locking again. Satisfied, Sephiroth turned back and noticed with some amazement that Zack's dorm had undergone a dramatic change.

 _This is the first time I think I've ever been able to see more than a square foot of the floor..._ Sephiroth let his eyes rove around the room, noting with approval that the room was very, very clean. And he doubted Zack had done that without some help. His eyes moved back to the mound of blankets on the top bunk, and from a small crack beneath the blankets, he could see two blue eyes, staring at him. _Zack's told me about you, Cloud..._

"Do you have any idea where your roommate may be hiding, Strife?" Sephiroth asked, keeping his voice as soft as possible.

"He... He caught... the early train to M-M-Midgar, sir... He said... said he had some business..."

"Do you know when he will be back?"

"No, sir..."

 _Well, I have some time, anyway. It's not as if that report was that important._ He went to the desk he knew to be Zack's and sat down in its chair, appearing calm and casual. _Of course, if Heidegger doesn't receive his report of that last mission soon, someone's going to have his wrist slapped..._

Sephiroth leaned back in the chair, and found his eyes kept straying up to the top bunk. Finally, he said, "I'm sorry if I disturbed your slumber." He paused, then added, "I guess those swimming lessons would be exhausting, especially that late at night, and since you normally have early classes..." He heard a soft gasp from underneath the blankets. "What is it?"

"How... Sir, did Zack tell you... about the lessons, sir?"

Sephiroth smiled, and heard another gasp as he replied, "Actually, I've seen you from my window at night. Apparently Zack neglected to tell you that I can see the pool from my quarters, eh?"

"Oh, no..." It was such an embarrassed whisper that Sephiroth couldn't help but chuckle.

"Really, it's no problem. I find it amusing, more than anything. You should not be embarrassed. In fact, I would find it a little easier to talk to you if you would come out of your little hideaway..."

Even from here, he could almost see the indecision in Cloud's eyes, battling between the Commander's wish and his own desire to stay hidden. Apparently, his wish won, because Cloud slowly pushed the blankets away, and pushed himself off the top bunk. Landing lightly on his two feet, Cloud immediately bowed his head and sat down on Zack's bunk. Sephiroth was becoming more entertained by the boy's actions by the second.

Cloud was dressed simply in a soft gray tank top and some blue shorts, Shinra-standard training/sleepwear that he often saw the men wearing. However, Cloud was so small that the tank top looked ridiculously large on him, and Sephiroth suddenly wondered if it was one of Zack's spares.

Well, no matter. Zack and Cloud were just roommates, after all.

"Have you had any other problems with Gunther, Strife?"

"No, sir." He hesitated, biting his lower lip. "I... I've been doing everything I can, sir, to avoid him."

"You haven't heard anything about his Gang plotting revenge, have you?"

"No, sir."

He nodded. "Good. I hope, then, that the conflict has been resolved...?"

"If you excuse me for saying so, sir, I think you scared them, sir."

The smile tugged at his lips again. "Probably so. And you, Strife... Do I scare you?"

Stiffening, Cloud suddenly seemed to find it hard to move.

"It's just that you seem to try to avoid me, as well," Sephiroth continued calmly. "I was unsure whether or not I had done something to upset you. And it would be intolerable of me to hurt one of Zack's friends in any way."

Cloud shook his head, quickly.

"Then, is there a reason why you avoid me so much?" he asked, and found himself confused as he stood and took a step closer to the fair-headed young man sitting on Zack's bunk.

 _What the hell am I doing?_

Cloud had started biting his lower lip again, and Sephiroth took another step closer, now easily within reach in the small, cramped dorm...

 _In reach of what?_

His hand reached up and gently cupped the boy's chin, tipping it upward, and the blue eyes involuntarily moved along with it, until they rested on his face. Sephiroth smiled, then, saw the startlement in Cloud's gaze, and then leaned closer, intent on having those clear, expressive eyes focused only on his own. Cloud's mouth opened slightly, and the blue eyes looked into his own bright emerald ones, and he had Cloud Strife caught, at last, in his gaze. Sephiroth stared, knowing his own eyes were intent and probably terrifying, but now Cloud didn't pull away, didn't even attempt to move back. Instead, he was frozen, but he could feel Cloud trembling, wavering between two different motions.

One motion was that of fear, so clearly evident in his eyes that Sephiroth was startled by their own intensity, but beneath that... even more powerful than the wariness and fear, was another emotion entirely...

 _Like Zack's... so much like Zack's eyes..._ He found himself leaning closer, but the sound of the lock being deactivated at the door snapped him back into the present. He immediately let go, both of Cloud's chin and his gaze, and casually stood straight as the door slid open and Zack entered, a few plastic bags held in his hands. Zack came in with his usual wide grin on his face, but stopped in mid-step when he saw Sephiroth standing there, and Cloud sitting on his bunk with his eyes wide in awe. The door slid shut, and for a few seconds there was confusion in Zack's face, but he shrugged it off easily.

"Oi, Seph! Cloud! What's up?"

Sephiroth smiled. "I was just having a conversation with your roommate, Zackary." A chuckle escaped him, and Zack shared his grin. "I think you might have to work on his social skills a little, though I guess I must have intimidated him."

As if to confirm this, Cloud suddenly seemed to yelp as if he finally realized what had been happening, and bolted for the ladder to his bunk again. Before he could reach it, however, Zack dropped the bags he had been holding and snatched Cloud clear off the ground. Cloud struggled, but only for a moment before Zack had him caught in a massive bear hug.

"You're not gettin' away from me that easily!" Zack admonished him. He playfully ruffled Cloud's hair, ignoring Cloud's pleading gaze as he returned his attention to Sephiroth. "So, what is it?"

"I came to ask you about the report for that last mission..."

"Funny... I could've sworn I dropped that off at your office, Seph. Did you check your in-box?"

"Yes, I did."

Zack's lips became a thin line, his grin disappearing. Both he and Sephiroth both thought of the same explanation, but Zack voiced it.

"Someone swiped it?"

"Either that or you dropped it. And usually you're more professional than that when it comes to your duty."

Zack frowned. "But there shouldn't have been anything in that report that was special... Why would anyone want to steal it?"

"Zack... It was a... monster inspection, wasn't it?"

"Oh... damn."

"Exactly. I'll check my security cameras and see if I can't find the culprit. However, if you could please email the report to me, then I can send it immediately to Heidegger before he becomes impatient."

"Right. Will do, boss."

"Excellent." Sephiroth walked by, about to leave, but stopped before he passed the two. He looked down at Cloud, giving another one of his small smiles. "It was a pleasure to meet you at last, Strife." Then his eyes went up to Zack's, and the smile broadened. "And don't forget about tonight, Zackary."

Zack grinned. "Yeah, I won't forget. You know me better than that, Seph."

With another quiet chuckle, Sephiroth swept out of the room.

The taller, dark-haired man let go of Cloud, and crossed his arms, looking at the wildly blushing blond-haired boy.

"So... What happened while I was gone, eh?"

"I... He... He talked to me... he..."

Before Cloud could go any farther, Zack grabbed Cloud under the arms and lifted him up to his bunk. Knowing that Cloud considered his bunk to be his sanctum sanctorum, Zack thought maybe Cloud would calm down once he was back in his relative safety-zone. But Cloud just sat there for a few minutes, his hands still shaking.

Zack looked up at Cloud's face critically. "Are you sick or something? I thought you would be bouncing all over the place from meeting Seph."

Cloud's voice was eerily steady and certain. "I'm afraid I'm about to, Zack. He... Gods, he spoke to me. He even touched me...!"

"As I said before, what was going on?"

"He asked me if I was afraid of him... and I didn't know what to say... So he walked over, and made me look up at his eyes, and..." Cloud shook his head, suddenly turning away and pretending to re-organize the objects on his small, bunk-side shelf. Zack wasn't fooled, however; he knew Cloud usually only did that when he was nervous.

"Ah. Did you have a nice discussion?"

"Well... I didn't really say... much... I just answered his questions. He asked if I was still worried about Gunther and all..." Zack thought he saw a ghost of a smile flicker across Cloud's face. "He was worried... about...?"

Zack grinned and tugged at Cloud's tank top. "Yo."

"What?"

"What's going through your head right now? You are blushing an awful lot, Cloud. I don't even think James has managed to make you blush so much with all of his jokes."

Cloud's hand suddenly slipped around the textbook he had been flipping through, but Zack caught it and handed it back to him, his grin broadening. Cloud swallowed, turning back immediately. Finally, the boy admitted, "Zack... is it okay... you know... for a guy to like... you know... another guy...?"

 _I have a feeling I know where this is going,_ Zack thought. But aloud, he said, "Sure. I mean, James and Tom have been a couple for years."

Cloud blinked and his mouth opened in surprise, as if to say something, but unsure of what to say. Eventually, what came out was, "I... I never knew... I always thought James was just... joking..."

"You probably haven't realized that he's flirted with you on numerous occasions, too, huh?"

"He did?!"

"Uh-huh. Geez, Cloud, I knew you were naive, but this is absolutely hilarious." Zack shook his head, trying to hide his own laughter. "Well, anyway, so? Why do you ask?"

Biting his lower lip again, Cloud seemed to be debating the entire situation in his head. Finally, "I... Zack, he was so close... and I wanted him to kiss me. I... I really wanted him to kiss me. Then I realized what I was thinking, and I... I'm afraid... This can't be normal...!"

"Don't worry about it, Cloud--"

"Don't worry?" Cloud squeaked. "Zack, didn't you hear what I just said? I said I wanted my superior officer in command to kiss me!" Cloud fell back into his pillow, covering his face with his hands. "Oh, God..." he moaned. "I can't believe myself... I can't believe...!"

"What's so hard to believe? Plenty of women--and definitely men--find Seph to be attractive. And there's nothing wrong with wanting to kiss someone, or to want to be kissed, as you said." Zack tempered his smile, made it more gentle and kind, and climbed up the ladder to Cloud's bunk. Sitting up on the edge, hunched over slightly so his head didn't bump against the ceiling, he reached down and pulled one of Cloud's hands away from the boy's face. "Listen to me, Cloud. There's nothing wrong with what you're feeling. Besides, I saw this coming a long time ago. I mean, Seph's been your idol since you were how young? Tell me. When was the first time you ever saw the Commander of SOLDIER?"

Cloud's other hand fell away, moved down to his chest, resting on the dark red Shinra logo on the tank top. "I... I was eight years old."

"That was about the same time Tifa fell from that cliff, right?"

Cloud nodded.

"And you decided right then that you wanted to join SOLDIER, right?"

Another, wary nod.

"So, Cloud... Answer me this. What were you thinking about from that point in time up to now?"

Cloud's brow creased, confused. "What do you mean...?"

"Were you thinking, 'I have to join SOLDIER to impress Tifa'?"

"N-no... I thought... that I wanted to join SOLDIER... because of Sephiroth..."

"I betcha your little crush has been with you since then, and you just never really realized it. I mean, I don't blame you, don't look so ashamed. How the hell could you have known what you were feeling? In a place like Nibelheim, where no one except your mom ever showed you an ounce of kindness... You had no idea how you felt, and you've never been really close to the object of your admiration to actually think about it. So, you see?" Zack patted Cloud's hand reassuringly, and was glad to see that some of Cloud's embarrassment had faded. "Maybe that would explain why you felt absolutely terrified to be around Seph, too. Goodness knows, you jump whenever his name is mentioned. Besides your idol worship and all... Cloud, you really are obsessed with the man."

Cloud nodded. "Maybe... I... I just dunno if it's... what it is, exactly."

"That's okay, too. Give it time. You'll figure it out. And, if you ever want any help, just ask me. You know I'll listen to you. However, I will tell you one thing..." Zack frowned. "There are... lots... of people who don't really like the fact that some men like men. And if anyone around here found out about it, especially Gunther, then some really nasty rumors are bound to spread very quickly. And I don't mean simple, little rumors that are easy to ignore. I'm talking about cruel, hurtful rumors, until Gunther can get back at you for that last time you managed to escape him. Okay?"

Cloud nodded again in understanding. "Yes..."

"Good." Zack hopped down from the bunk, and reached over to grab the bags. "You know, I've got some snacks for us. Want some cookies?"

"...Zack? The next time you see Sephiroth... Will you tell him that I apologize?"

"Sure thing, Cloud. Now, here. Have a cookie."

"Thank you!"

***

Later that night, Zack found himself staring up at a ceiling that was by no means unfamiliar, but still not the usual, under-the-top-bunk view that he was accustomed to seeing. He yawned, then said, very softly, "You know what...? Cloud wanted me to tell you somethin'..."

Jade eyes opened in obvious amusement, and an interested voice replied. "Oh, really...?"

"He wanted me to tell you... that he was sorry..."

"Sorry for what?"

Zack shrugged, then rolled over, crossing his arms on top of Sephiroth's chest and resting his chin there, comfortable. "Oh, I imagine he felt like a total fool when you left. In fact, I know so."

"You know so." It wasn't really a question, but, rather, a flat statement with a slight tone of incredulity.

"Uh-huh. I also know somethin' else..."

"And that would be?"

A mischievous grin. "I don't have to tell. It might be better if I don't, really..."

"I have ways of making you talk," the older man threatened, but the gleam in his eyes was pure playfulness.

"I can take a lot of torture."

"So you say now, but..." Sephiroth wasted no time in carrying out his threat, and Zack quickly had to roll out of reach before the silver-haired man's grasped anything too... personal. "Heh, running away? That's not like you at all, Zack."

"I'm not running away, I'm merely delaying the inevitable. It's more fun that way, and--get your hands away from there!"

"Then tell me what else you know, and I'll behave."

"Well... Let's just say, you know, when you were alone in the dorm with him... This was what he wished you had done to him." Zack suddenly leaned down and kissed Sephiroth full on the lips. In seconds, Sephiroth had his hands tangled in Zack's hair, pulling his head even closer, making the kiss forceful and strong and Zack couldn't help but feel wonderful and ponder...

 _By Holy, if Cloud got even a taste of this...!_

He pushed himself away from Sephiroth, grinning down at his friend and trying to regain the breath he had just lost. Sephiroth grinned back.

"Hmm... I never would have thought... that little Cloud Strife..."

"He had never even realized what he was feeling, until then. He was a little ashamed of it, at first. Maybe he still is. But I told him it was all right, that he was feeling... love." Tossing his black hair over one shoulder, Zack leaned down again and tapped the older man on the nose. "Kinda like you... kinda like me... when we first figured it out, too, huh?"

"Perhaps." A pause. "You aren't proposing what I think you're proposing, are you?"

"We can't really do anything too fast; we still have to let the kid's wounds heal from Gunther's little... But, yeah, you know what I'm thinking."

"You're serious."

"Are you laughing?!"

"Heh, heh... Maybe."

"Oh, c'mon, it wouldn't hurt to try! Besides... it might even be good for the kid."

"And whole loads of fun for the family."

Zack grimaced. "You're right, you're right... First off, he's way too young, and for another thing..." A sudden thought struck Zack on the head, and he immediately looked Sephiroth in the eyes. "Hey... You're not jealous, are you?"

Sephiroth was silent for a few moments, then smiled again. "I think I know of a way in which this can all be mutually beneficial. Want to try it? At least jealousy won't be an issue."

"...Son of a bitch. You just want to get the best of the batch, don't you?"

"Perhaps. Now be quiet and get to sleep. I have a mission early in the morning, and until then I'd like to sleep, dream, and fantasize about what it would be like to have Cloud Strife come between us."

Zack's eyes widened. "Holy...!"

"And don't get a nosebleed now, Zackary... I just had the sheets cleaned yesterday."

***

"So, once the new Emperor gained the trust of the last clan in Wutai, things entered a relative time of peace and bickering between the clans died down..."

Cloud absently whirled a pencil in his right hand, listening as the instructor droned on and on about the history of Wutai. Quite frankly, he didn't care what the man said; he had just read the whole thing last night in his textbook, as he was supposed to do, and it was obvious that the instructor had taken it straight out from the book, word-for-word. Cloud felt like he could probably recite it himself, if he had the mind to think about it.

But the clan wars of Wutai were the farthest things on his mind right now.

What did occupy his mind, however, was the "You've got mail!" message flashing at the bottom of his laptop's screen. He kept watching it, as if hypnotized by the rapidly repeating words, but was unsure if he should risk opening the file here. He stole glances at the other students of the room, but most of the ones sitting nearby him were either paying attention to the instructor, writing notes, or sleeping.

Cloud waited a few more minutes, just to make sure that the guy sitting closest to him was really asleep and not just faking it, and then let his hand put down the pencil and rest absently on the laptop's keyboard. He guided the cursor down to the mail icon, clicked, and waited for the email to load. After a few seconds, the program displaying his in-box was up on the screen, and he stared at the computer in surprise.

The email was from Ames Jennison.

Cloud frowned, curiosity burning in the back of his mind. No one had ever emailed him before, certainly never during class hours, and of all people, why would Ames...?

He glanced up. The instructor had taken to pacing down the aisles, rapping smartly on the unfortunate sleeping soldier's shoulder, and snatching a book up from one recruit's hands. Cloud quickly minimized the program and waited, taking up his normal pose. Supporting his head on his left hand, his right picked up the pencil again and he pretended to listen.

"Emperor Nandou was overthrown by the Kisaragi clan, and ever since then the Kisaragi line has been the most royal, and they have taken up the claims that the gods' blood runs through their veins..."

The instructor passed, and Cloud waited for the man to take up his position at the podium again before putting down the pencil. Unable to force down his curiosity any longer, he opened up the email from Ames. The message was brief, but nonetheless got the general ideal across rather well.

The email said:

[Don't go to mess today at lunch, Gunther will be there. Ames.]

Cloud deleted the email, closed the program, and stifled a heavy sigh as he suffered the rest of the class in the back, dreading the coming of the lunch period. As soon as the bell rang to end this class, he would be forced to skip lunch and go to his next class--martial arts--with an empty stomach. And all because Gunther hated his guts.

 _I never did anything to him... Why does he want to hurt me so much...?_

And, inevitably, just the thought of Gunther brought back a sharp pain, a terrible reminder, that twisted his stomach into a knot. Biting his lower lip, Cloud closed his eyes and hoped the real, physical pain would drive away the memory, but it wasn't working as it normally did. He bit down harder, fighting back the tears that threatened to come, and finally he tasted blood on his tongue. The sharp tang of that alone seemed to do the trick, and it took him a moment to realize that the class had been dismissed. The bell had rung and the recruits were gathering their laptops and leaving, shoving books and other school materials into handbags. Cloud just watched them, saw them gathering in their little cliques and talking, normally, as if there was nothing wrong in the whole world...

"Strife?" He looked up, saw the instructor staring at him with bewilderment. "What are you doing? Aren't you going to lunch like the rest of them? Is there a problem?"

"No, sir..." Cloud whispered, standing to clear his things away. He licked his lip, surprised he was bleeding so heavily, and started for the door. By the time he had reached it, there was a familiar figure in the doorway, and he blinked when he saw Zack standing there.

"Hey, kid. Are you busy?"

Cloud shook his head silently, and this seemed to confuse Zack. Frowning slightly, Zack reached up with a hand, turning Cloud's face up.

"Your lip is bleeding. You..." There was a moment of hesitation, and Zack quickly dropped his hand to his side, taking a few steps back into the hallway. "You wanna talk? I was hopin' to have lunch with you today, out in the courtyard. Or back at the dorm, if you prefer. Whaddya say?"

"I... I don't wanna go to the cafeteria, Zack," Cloud said softly. Zack nodded, not questioning his friend's simple statement, and then grinned.

"Hey, that's okay. C'mon, I brought some stuff with me in my pack. It's not much, but you never seem to eat too much, anyway."

Before long, they were sitting in one of the corners of the courtyard. Zack was leaning back against the wall of the building, chomping happily on an apple, while Cloud just sat beside him, nibbling at a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that somehow managed to survive the trip in Zack's pack without getting squished. Zack had finally questioned Cloud about the bleeding lip, and Cloud mentioned the warning email from Ames.

"So, Gunther still has revenge in mind," Zack murmured, and looked at his apple with something of a pout. "Damn him. When will he ever learn to lay off?"

Cloud looked up at him, then shrugged and finished off the rest of the sandwich. "I... I dunno, Zack..."

"...You're still scared, aren't you?"

The blond glanced up at him again, then wrapped his arms around his knees. He said nothing, and for a long time neither of the two said anything. Zack finished off the rest of his apple, tossing the core away for the few animals living there in the courtyard, and looked back down at his friend. Cloud looked as if he were afraid again, afraid and frightened and unsure about anything.

Whenever Cloud appeared that way, it cut Zack straight to his soul.

 _...not fair, that he has to fight against the whole world like that...not fair at all..._

It also didn't help that Cloud's lip was still bleeding, and if something wasn't done soon then the blood would soon be rolling down the boy's chin, such a bright ruby drop.

 _And, the Planet so help me, if there wasn't something about it that made the kid look so damned attractive..._

Zack reached up carefully with an arm, and encircled it around Cloud's shoulder. Cloud looked up at him, not shifting to move out from Zack's protection, and Zack smiled at him, leaning down and planting a gentle, careful kiss on Cloud's lips. He heard Cloud gasp against him, felt the boy's mouth open up, but instead of going in deeper he laid more gentle carresses on Cloud's lower lip. When he pulled away, Cloud had completely frozen, still staring in open disbelief. The raven-haired SOLDIER began to wonder if he had made some sort of mistake, thinking that perhaps he really had moved too soon, when Cloud whispered, "Zack...? Why did you...?"

 _All right. Apologize immediately and pray that he begins to think that it never happened. I'm such a moron!_ Kicking himself mentally in the head, Zack quickly began to stammer out an apology, but then he saw the blush on Cloud's face, and he ended up grinning instead. _Oh, gods... He liked it, I knew it!_

But, before anything else could be said or done, the emergency bells throughout the campus began ringing. Zack and Cloud raised their heads, listening, and then shared a single glance before rising quickly to their feet and running. Overhead, the speakers blared out their warning.

"Attention all military personnel! Attention!"


	4. Furnace

"Okay, people, here's the drill," General Wolff barked, as the squads hastily got into place in front of the waiting military trains to Midgar. "Some terrorists have decided to stage a full-scale assault against the Shinra in Sector Three. Not on the slums, mind you, but on the Plate itself. The assault began one hour ago, and the current military forces there have requested our military support. The terrorists have taken complete control over a bank, and have several hostages. According to Heidegger back at central command, all negotiations thus far have resulted negatively with the loss of one of the hostages. There are only ten left.

"Sephiroth himself will wage a secret attack on the bank, and flush the terrorists out of their hiding place on the second floor. He has been told that the hostages are not his primary concern; he is to go in and wipe out the terrorists.

"Your jobs are relatively simple. We are to pretend we're just there to assist the regular police with the negotiations and fulfilling the terrorists' demands. After Sephiroth breaks them up, it will be up to us to take down any of the others who escape. Squads alpha, beta, and delta will rescue the remaining hostages. The rest of you will do whatever you can to assist in apprehending the criminals. You may turn them in dead or alive."

Wolff clasped his hands behind his back, regarding each squad and their Soldier commanders with dark eyes. "Once this train is in motion, it will take you fifteen minutes to reach the bank. This is not a drill, but a real mission with very real consequences. I suggest all of you take all of your training to heart, especially you new recruits. Now... Move out!"

At once, the doors to the cars slid open and Zack directed his squad into the car marked with the zeta symbol. The men stood nervously, clutching onto the car's metal rods desperately as the train began on its way, rushing toward Midgar. Zack stood beside Cloud, the only one out of all of them who did not need to hold onto anything to keep his balance; he was saying something to James, but Cloud couldn't make it out. He was just wishing, hoping, praying, that he could be anywhere but there. Anywhere. He had a horrible feeling about the whole thing...

***

The move from the train to the bank took less time than Cloud thought it would; time went by so quickly, he thought he had only taken a few steps and instead there he was, stationed with the rest of the squad outside of the bank. When Wolff had said the word "bank," Cloud hadn't imagined it to be such a huge building. It stood at least ten stories tall, some of the windows were blasted out, and the searchlights continually roved the windows and walls. A helicopter was coming from overhead, and Zack looked back at his squad.

"That will be Sephiroth. Is everyone ready?" Some of the men shifted their feet nervously, but all nodded, and Zack in turn looked ahead. "Right, we'll move in on the western side and secure an entry point in the stairwell. After delta's moved in, we're to follow and provide support until we reach the main lobby on the fifth floor. Delta will deal with the hostages; we'll deal with the terrorists that haven't been taken down by the Commander. Our biggest worry will be securing the stairwell so delta can get through; that's our priority. Afterwards, holding the lobby will be our main objective. We're likely to run across some of the other squads while we're in there, so, I know this doesn't have to be said, but... make sure you know what you're shooting at." As soon as the last word left his mouth, the helicopter apparently landed on the bank's roof. There came the sound of several gunshots, and suddenly the squads were moving. Zack led the way for them, moving quickly and silently, following one of the other squads. They swept off to the alley facing the west side of the building, and several of the squads broke in doors and entered the building, while Zack continued to lead them to a farther door.

Once there, Zack forced open the door and rushed in, the squad hot on his heels. Cloud, being the newest member of the group, brought up the rear and could hear squad delta right behind them, waiting for orders to move. It wasn't long before they heard gunfire, and one of the men from above cried out in warning as a body came plummeting down the stairwell. Cloud pushed himself against the wall when it landed on the railing beside him, and the sickening crunch of bones breaking did not escape his distracted hearing. Forcing himself to ignore it, he simply rushed up after the others.

Five flights of stairs had never seemed like such a long distance before. He never had to actually fire his own weapon on the staircase, being as far behind the others as he was, but getting past the corpses lining the stairs as they reached the fifth floor and charged in was made more difficult. When Cloud had heard they were fighting terrorists, he didn't think there could possibly be so many of them.

Once they reached the fifth story, Zack had them split into smaller groups so they could root out any terrorists hiding in the siderooms, before taking on the larger group that was reportedly lurking in the floor's main lobby. Zack went first, of course, and Cloud wound up moving with James and Tom. It wasn't long before they could hear gunfire, and James and Tom wound up entering one room just as one of the terrorists came stumbling in, apparently trying to escape one of the other groups. James immediately opened fire, and they went on, until finally they met up with the other groups and Zack at the entrance to the lobby. Zack silently indicated that there were a good thirty-some-odd men in there, and it looked as if there were no hostages.

"Go in firing," he mouthed, jerking his head toward the entrance. He absently adjusted his own helmet, before looking to all of them for affirmation of their readiness. Once satisfied, Zack adjusted his grip on his Buster Sword, before darting into the room. The squad followed after him, and the next few moments went by in a blur.

Cloud wasn't entirely sure what happened. He remembered running inside, right on Tom's heels before the older trooper veered off to the side to take on a different group, leaving him directly in the path of some of the terrorists. Apparently his training had kicked in, because he opened fire without hardly thinking. The entire process of raising his weapon, taking aim, and pulling the trigger never seemed to actually happen, or at least, he wasn't sure it did. He just knew that afterwards, all he could see was the pile of bloody bodies growing as the terrorists were quickly, utterly wiped out. He didn't have much time to dwell on any of it, however disturbed it might have left him, because Zack was already giving out orders to barricade some of the lobby doors. A few heavy footsteps indicated the arrival of the squad leader of delta, who went to Zack's side and exchanged a few quick, brief words. After a quick salute, the delta commander left, and Zack let out a relieved sigh before looking over his shoulder at his own squad and grinning.

"So far, so good. Delta managed to find the hostages; good going, McClain. Didn't think they would have hidden them in such an obvious place. Right..." Zack began helping them to set up barricades, mostly by pushing and shoving furniture around and barring most of the doorways. There came no other sounds, however, asides from the gunshots they could hear being fired from other portions of the building; everything else was silent, save for their heavy breathing.

Cloud thought his sounded entirely too loud, but once more, he didn't have much time to think about it after he helped the others with the barricades. A random burst of static from Zack's radio caught everyone's attention, and many of the men instinctively grabbed their weapons and prepared to follow after Zack. Zack muttered something to James and Tom and took off, vaulting over one of the barricades and disappearing down one of the hallways. Cloud also made to take off after him, but was brought to an unexpected halt.

"Whoa, wait a minute!"

Cloud heard James's voice just as a hand clamped down on his shoulder, and he was jerked back behind the relative safety of the furniture. Cloud looked at James with confusion, but James shook his head quickly.

"Zack told me to keep an eye on you in case he had to go solo; that's what he's doing right now. He got orders to assist a group in the eastern stairwell."

James's explanation only seemed to make Cloud more confused, but he slumped back and gripped his gun tightly, worrying. James squatted down beside him, and glanced across the room at the others.

"We're to hold our positions here until we receive further orders!" James hissed, just loudly enough so that the others could hear him. Tom nodded with understanding, and a few of the men settled down, breathing deep sighs. James slid down beside Cloud, double-checking the barricade behind them, and then smiled slightly. "I think the worst of it's over, now... You doin' okay, Cloud?"

Cloud swallowed, resisting the urge to wipe his hands. They felt sweaty and clammy and too-hot all at once, underneath the leather gloves. "I... I'm worried I'm going to throw up."

"If it happens, don't resist it; it's natural. You've done just fine so far, Zack'll be proud of you."

He looked at James with surprise, shocked to hear such praise spoken so casually. Praise. Praise for him. James noticed him looking at him, and chuckled, patting Cloud on the back.

"Just sit back, kiddo. It'll be over soon."

Cloud looked back down at his lap. "Sephiroth... Sephiroth's in here, too, huh?"

"Probably," James muttered, shrugging slightly, "if he hadn't already chased the rest of those sorry bastards out of the building. I'm surprised they didn't see through the Shinra's faÃ§ade any sooner; for all their organization, they fell to one of the easiest tricks in the book." Seeing Cloud's confusion, James explained, "They thought the helicopter was their ticket out of here. The Shinra probably negotiated with them, telling them that so long as none of the hostages were harmed, they could get out of here on that helicopter. Guess they didn't suspect the helicopter would be bringing the Commander along for the ride. Heh."

Cloud simply nodded with understanding, breathing another deep sigh of relief and relaxing his hold on his machine gun.

 _...I still feel sick._

***

Ames fired into the corridor before swiftly stepping back into the room. He shouted over his shoulder, "How's it look, Keith?"

"Not good! He's not going to make it; this materia's too weak to heal this kind of wound!"

"...shit!" Ames fired again into the hallway. "I'm running low on ammo, here... We've got to find a better position."

"We'll have to make a break for it down the halls," Keith said quickly, moving to his side and double-checking his own ammunition. "I've got a few rounds left... If we keep running and bear to the right, we should reach the eastern stairwell."

"Right." Ames prepared himself, took a deep breath and nodded. "Ready... go!"

He ran out shooting back in the direction of the enemy, giving Keith time to get out of the room safely and take off down the halls. Once Ames was certain he had scared the terrorists into taking cover for a few seconds, he took off after Keith, only stopping from time to time to fire behind them at any pursuers.

It took only a few moments of running for them to reach the room with the door to the emergency eastern stairwell, but Ames had to stay at the door, firing down the hall to keep the terrorists off while Keith searched for something they could use as a barricade. Finally settling on a giant wooden cabinet, Keith grunted and pushed until they finally slid the cabinet over the doorway. Ames told Keith to check out the rest of the room and work on the emergency exit, which was bound to be locked again, while he adjusted the cabinet and sought out any other major pieces of furniture they could possibly use. Seeing as to how the room was just an office, with the only other doors leading to a closet and the emergency stairs, he thought they were pretty secure.

"Hey, the door's still locked...! I think I might need your help to force it open!" Keith called softly from his side of the room.

Ames looked up, turning just in time to see a terrorist come out from the closet, gun pointed straight at Keith. "Get down!" he shouted, running and drawing his dagger. Keith immediately dropped to the ground and rolled, managing to avoid one blast. He jumped to his feet and then started to aim his machine gun, but another blast from the terrorist's gun insured that he would never pull the trigger. Ames didn't even see what happened; within moments he was upon the other man, knocking the gun from his hand and then slamming his elbow across the man's face. Before the terrorist could even retaliate, Ames took the man's head in his hands and twisted, quickly and strongly, so that he could hear the snap of the neck before dropping the corpse to the ground. Breathing heavily, he wiped his brow and turned, only to see Keith standing, staring at a bloodied hand with disbelief. Keith's hazel eyes rose to meet Ames's own, before shaking his head.

"...why...?"

But Ames could see it, possibly easier than Keith could, that the wounds in his chest were obviously fatal. He ran forward, caught Keith as the other trooper's legs gave out, and frantically he searched for Keith's restore materia, fumbled about with the glowing green stone before attempting to cast a healing spell... again... and again... trying to drown out Keith's last words with clumsy oaths and curses and trying to ignore the fact that barricades at the door were being pushed and the terrorists could come in at any second--

"Get down, soldier, NOW!"

The shout came from behind Ames, from the stairwell as the emergency door burst open, but Ames could have cared less. He looked up as a group of the terrorists came rushing from the other door, but he didn't even have to move. There was a dark blur, the sound of a heavy blade slicing and crushing bones in one fell swoop, and another pile of corpses at the door. Ames didn't move; he didn't think he could. He simply sat in the middle of the room, arms around the one body that actually meant something.

"Jennison, is that you? Jennison? Answer me, it's First Class Donovan. Jennison?!"

"...I failed," Ames mumbled, closing his eyes. "...failure, I'm just like the others..."

Zack looked down at Ames with some confusion but mostly sympathy, reaching down to put a hand on the trooper's shoulder. "We've got clean-up crews on their way; this was the last group of them. There will be medics, they might be able to..." His voice trailed off, realizing that Ames wasn't listening. Sighing, Zack stood straight, looked to see the terrorist beside the open closet, and frowned when he noted the bizarre angle of the neck.

 _Snapped. Couldn't have been one of us, though; none of the recruits are allowed to learn that kind of technique..._

Before Zack could dwell on it further, his radio snapped on and he began receiving new orders.

Their tactics had worked and the building was clear. For those who were still alive, it was time to head back home.

***

The ride back to the base was fairly uneventful. None of the men spoke on the way back, only whispered quietly amongst themselves, usually only to those in their small clusters. Even Zack seemed tired, wearied by something, and Cloud felt distinctly uncomfortable. Some of it was certainly the motion sickness, but the rest...

The train stopped and the men slowly emptied out. Some of them took off running toward the showers, some of the Soldiers shouted across the station to one another about drinks, others were being called to debriefing. Zack was one of them, but he found as he started walking toward the offices instead of the showers that Cloud was still silently following him, eyes downcast, as if not even realizing what he was doing.

"Cloud? You gonna hit the showers with the rest of the squad?" Zack suggested softly, startling Cloud out of his silence.

"Oh! Oh... Oh, no, I was going to wait for you," Cloud said, quickly, and Zack thought he heard a few scattered laughs from the other Soldiers. He turned and motioned for them to go on ahead.

"I'll be there in just a moment!" He turned back to Cloud, saw the young trooper shifting nervously. "Here, how's this? You wait right here at this lounge, and as soon as the debriefing's over I'll come back and we'll head off to the showers. Hey, if we're lucky, there might not even be as long of a wait, right?"

Cloud nodded, and quietly went into the lounge, slipped through the doors. The lounge was fairly small, and as he looked at the couches and chairs and then inspected the vending machines, he felt badly that he didn't have any spare gil on him. He was definitely more relaxed than before, but then again... He wasn't sure what he could trust his stomach with.

 _So easy... it's so easy..._

Shaking his head, he felt he had barely sat down in one of the armchairs when the door to the lounge opened and Zack stuck his head in, grinning.

"Oi! Let's get to those showers, huh?"

***

Cloud appeared distracted by something, but Zack didn't want to press him about what had just happened. After all, "first mission blues" were common, not abnormal, and Zack knew that the only way to deal with them was with two things: distractions, and time. The time part he couldn't control, but he was pretty sure he could distract Cloud easily enough.

"Cloud?" he said as they were walking down the halls toward the showers.

"Hmmm...?" Cloud didn't even look up at him, only chewing on his bottom lip again, a sure sign that he was thinking too hard.

"Did you know that Heidegger's uncle was a giant gorilla?"

Cloud blinked, looking up at Zack with confusion. "What?"

Zack grinned unashamedly. "Got ya."

Cloud punched him unenthusiastically with his helmet, knocking it against Zack's shoulder and attempting to ignore the taller man's laughter. "That wasn't funny."

"Maybe not, but it got you to look at me."

The apathy turned to guilt in less than a second. "I'm sorry, Zack, I didn't mean to, I was just... just thinking, and--"

"Hey, it's all right. I understand, believe me. Just..." Zack trailed off, thinking, running a hand through his hair. "Just don't get stuck in what happened and don't forget that we're here for you, not back there. You'll never get over it if you keep looking for ghosts."

Cloud blinked, looked down at the floor as he walked, voice quiet. "In Nibelheim, there's all kind of ghosts..."

 _Well, at least the distraction has kinda worked,_ Zack thought, though he was a little surprised. "Ghosts? I didn't think you were superstitious."

Cloud's face colored. "I'm not superstitious... I'm just... I just believe in ghosts. There's a difference."

"Oh?" Zack tried to stop looking quite so amused, and managed to earn a weak glare from Cloud.

"If you had lived in Nibelheim, you would, too," Cloud muttered.

"Why's that?"

"Because they're everywhere in Nibelheim." He was pouting again, knowing he was being teased. "You've never been there, so you don't know."

"What kind of ghosts?" Zack asked, a little intrigued. This was a side to Cloud's hometown that he had never heard of, before. Cloud shrugged.

"All kinds. Good, bad... But mother always said that the bad ones couldn't really hurt me, though she never really told me why. There's a few who wander town and there's definitely at least one in the old mansion, and there's supposedly at least one in the mountains... and there's lots in the cemetery. Mother said sometimes spirits just can't let go, or they're lonely, or confused, and that's why they don't leave."

"Heh. So everyone at Nibelheim is stubborn, huh?" Zack teased. When he saw the look on Cloud's face he burst into laughter again. "I always wondered if it was just you or if everyone in Nibelheim was so stubborn. At least now I know!"

"You're just making fun of me," Cloud muttered, attempting to sound annoyed, but there was hint of a smile on his face now.

"Yep, that's about it," Zack said, as they turned the corner and onto the hallway that held the showers. Of course, after such a large mission involving so many of the men and actually requiring that they each do work, the showers were full. Both Zack and Cloud stopped when they saw the incredibly long line stretching around the other end of the corridor. Zack wasn't too surprised; he had expected it to be this bad. But Cloud was obviously shocked and more than a little dismayed to see so many of the men in there.

"You know," Zack murmured as they surveyed the line, "I could use my officer's privelege and just cut into the front of the line. Most of the other officers have probably already done that by now."

Cloud quickly shook his head, looking up at Zack fearfully. "Too many people... too many... Don't leave me alone out here, Zack...!"

Knowing the kid had probably had one too many scares that day, Zack nodded. "Well, do you wanna go back to the dorm and come back later? I'm just worried about how that place is gonna smell..."

If it were at all possible, Zack could have sworn that Cloud's spikes of blond hair were actually drooping, the kid seemed so depressed.

"You're right... We can wait..." Cloud looked hesitantly at the line, and along with Zack they started strolling toward the end.

"Hey, boss, where do you think you're going?" The remark was followed by a snicker, and Zack and Cloud both turned around to see James and Tom standing at the door, waving to them.

"Hurry up and get over here!"

Judging from the looks of it, the two of them had just finished taking their shower, and hadn't taken the time to dry off.

"We saved a place for you in line, but you weren't here yet, so we almost lost it for ya. Hurry up and get in!" James nearly pulled the two of them into the shower room, and Tom directed them to one of the larger shower stalls at the other end of the room.

"It can hold two people, so if you two want you can both use it and poor Cloud won't be left out here alone." Tom leaned in closer to Zack, lowering his voice to a whisper. "And that would be bad. Very bad. Gunther's in line, and he's not far from here, so you two had better hurry up before he catches sight of Cloud."

Zack nodded, thankful that the showers' mist had spread across most of the place, and with one hand on Cloud's shoulder he began dragging Cloud to the far shower. Thankfully, none of the other troopers around had caught sight of it yet, and they were the first ones to reach it. Cloud seemed surprised as Zack hurriedly began to strip down, and Zack glanced up at him, as if realizing for the first time that perhaps Cloud wasn't comfortable with the ideal of sharing a shower.

"Cloud?" Zack said, softly. "Are you okay with this? If not, you can go on in first, and I'll just wait here until you get done, but..."

"No... No, it's okay. I trust you, Zack." And Cloud smiled slightly, and he began to discard his own uniform. Zack did the courtesy of shoving the uniforms into the nearest laundry chute, and when he stepped into the shower he saw Cloud had already started up the hot water, and Zack couldn't help but think that perhaps something of a cold shower might be much better so he didn't embarrass himself.

 _Could anyone really blame me?_ Zack thought, hurriedly pulling the stall's thick curtain closed. When he turned back around, Cloud was already lathering up his hair, and Zack knew that the only way he was going to get through this shower without being too much of an idiot would be to make sure he looked at Cloud as little as possible. Which basically meant showering with their backs turned, and Cloud didn't seem to have much of a problem with it; when Zack suggested it so Cloud might not feel too nervous, Cloud had only nodded and complied.

 _I mean... here we are... and he goes right out and says that he trusts me... and yet I can't help but think that his cute butt's not even a foot behind me._ Grinding his teeth together and trying not to growl in frustration, Zack did his very best to concentrate on showering. _Gods, if Seph knew... he'd be laughing, I swear...!_

Thankfully, their shower wasn't too long, and they vacated the shower quickly so another group could get in. They tried to dry off, but in the heavy humidity of the room there was no way to do so completely. With soggy hair and almost-damp clothes they left the showers to head back to the dorm, appreciative of the sudden cool air that hit them in the hallways. Zack was pleased with himself; not only had his squad done well today, but he had managed to get through the entire shower without doing something uncalled-for.

So, of course he was surprised when, as they were settling down for some well-earned rest in their bunks, that he heard Cloud ask, "Zack? Why did you kiss me earlier today?"

Zack chuckled, playing nonchalant. "Why? I didn't embarrass you or something, did I?"

"No... I mean, I... I..." The mattress above him shifted, and there was a large, long yawn before Cloud went on. "I kinda liked it, Zack..."

"...I'm glad, Cloud." Zack smiled, closing his own eyes. "I'm glad... now get some sleep, okay, kiddo?"

"...yes, sir..."

***

The day after the mission seemed wrongfully normal. Classes went on as if nothing untoward had happened, but Cloud was not the only one unsettled as the instructors went through the rolls, and names that had been called only yesterday were no longer part of the list. Strange, how quickly they removed the names, as if they were trying to deny the fact that those young men had ever existed.

His current instructor of his tactics and stratagem class was going down the roll call, and Cloud could hear the almost painful pauses each time the man skipped over a name of a recruit who was no longer with them.

"Jennison." The instructor paused, waiting for Ames to announce his presence, but there came not a sound. Some of the students shifted uncomfortably, and Cloud looked up from his laptop's screen. Ames usually sat in the back, only a row over from his own seat, but today the spot was vacant. The instructor also looked at the seat with confusion, and then looked at one of the students on the front row. "Gentry, do you know where Jennison is?"

The recruit shifted, shaking his head. "Sir, I think Jennison hasn't come out of his room since the mission yesterday."

"I see. Strife, since you know Jennison, go to his dorm and retrieve him immediately."

Cloud nodded, and pushed back his chair. Closing his laptop and notebooks to make sure that no one saw their contents, Cloud stood to head for the door. On his way out, he heard the instructor going on.

"Yes, I know that Jennison's friend was killed in yesterday's mission. But if he wants to be a SOLDIER, then Jennison will have to learn along with the rest of you that friends die in war, and while there is a time to mourn, there is--"

Cloud heard the door slide shut behind him, and began walking down the halls, thinking. _Keith... Despite everything he said, Ames and Keith were... close._

He drifted down the halls, for a long time unsure of exactly what he would do or say once he got to Ames's dorm. But he reached the door before he could formulate any plans in his head, and for a few minutes just stood there. Finally, he rose one hand and knocked, uncertain.

The door slid open, and Ames stood at the doorway, dressed in the typical recruit training wear. Ames stared at Cloud for a long, awkward moment, then nodded and stepped aside.

"What is it, Strife?" he asked bluntly, and Cloud tried his hardest not to remark at the weariness he saw in Ames's eyes, the heaviness that sagged his shoulders and burdened his limbs. Instead, he shook himself, and reminded himself about the reason why he had come.

"Instructor Dugall ordered me to find you and remind you that classes are still taking place today, despite yesterday's events," Cloud said in a rush. "Class just started, so if you hurry you can--"

"You know I wouldn't go," Ames muttered, turning away and heading to his bunk. Sitting down at its edge, the recruit sighed heavily, and reached down with his hands. Cloud just then noticed that the room was being completely reorganized, and there were boxes everywhere. He stepped inside and the door slid shut behind him, and he knew what Ames was doing. "You know I wouldn't go," Ames repeated, "so why did you come here? You're wasting your precious time, Strife... I've got to pack up Keith's stuff and ship it to his family, anyway, so I'm just going to skip class today. If any of the instructors really have a problem, then they can talk to me about it themselves."

The bitterness in that voice alarmed him, and Cloud again found himself unsure of what to say, or do. Finally, he settled for a simple nod, and started to turn back around, his hand already reaching for the door.

"Strife, wait."

Cloud jerked his hand back from the keypad, and turned to see Ames watching him again, dark blue eyes staring at him so intently... Cloud nearly froze, barely managed to back away when Ames stood and walked toward him, slowly and deliberately.

"You know, Cloud," Ames said, now standing a little too close for Cloud's comfort, "you should be careful. You're too pretty just to wander around without anyone to warn you about the dangers around the corner. There's too many people out there who would try to take advantage of you without a second thought."

"What do you mean, Ames...?" Cloud whispered, steeling himself and staring straight back at Ames's eyes, even though the intensity in them was daunting; they reminded him of Zack's eyes, only deeper and without the glow of the Mako.

Ames was smiling, now. Cloud didn't see the hand that carefully cupped his cheek, and he tried to ignore the gleam in Ames's eyes as he whispered, "I'll keep watching out for you, Cloud. I'll make sure I give you all the warnings you need. And here's my first warning..." He whispered into Cloud's ear, softly, and Cloud's eyes widened in disbelief. He shook his head violently, in denial.

"No! No, that's not true! It can't be!"

The other recruit shrugged, and went back to the bunk without even another glance. "Hey, I said I'd give you the warnings. I didn't say that you had to believe me. But mark my words, Cloud. Soon, you'll see that I'm right, and then maybe you'll..." He shook his head again, bending down to pick up some random item and put it into one of the boxes. "Never mind. Get back to class, Strife, before you miss too much..."

Cloud wasted no time in getting out of that dorm, and for a few moments he just stood out in the hall, trying to understand what had just happened. But his mind seemed unwilling to deal with the possibility that Ames's words could be true, and so Cloud just returned to class, confused and wary.

***

Zack cursed. He couldn't find Cloud. Again.

 _Damn it, Cloud, where are you this time?!_

It was far past time for dinner, and Cloud hadn't come back to the dorm for lunch or dinner. He hadn't shown up at the mess hall, he wasn't flitting about any of his usual haunts, and, to top it all off, they were supposed to have another swimming session that night. But Cloud wasn't anywhere to be found, and at all of the different times the boy had had classes, Zack had had guard duty at the armory. So, Zack hadn't seen Cloud at all since the young blond had disappeared out of the dorm that morning, and by this point in time he was starting to get a little worried.

So he stalked down the hallways, asking the occasional trooper or Soldier if they had seen Cloud anywhere. None of them had any idea where Cloud had gone, but as Zack passed one particular group of Soldiers, he heard one mention that Sephiroth was in one of the training gyms for a late-night practice.

 _Oh, gods... Why don't I ever think to check the training gyms?_

Growling to himself, Zack marched to the training gyms and up to the observatory level, and, sure enough, found Cloud in one of the solitary rooms. He went in, and Cloud, as usual, didn't even notice his presence. The boy was too caught up in watching his idol, and Zack grinned as he snuck up on him, prepared to pay him back for his anti-socialness with a good old-fashioned tickle torture--

"Please, don't, Zack... I'm really not in the mood for it."

Zack was taken aback by that statement, so coolly stated that he almost ignored the fact that Cloud had somehow seen him coming. Worried, he leaned down to see Cloud biting his lower lip again.

"Cloud... What's wrong...?"

"Nothing...!"

"No, something is wrong. You're biting your lip again; didn't I tell you to stop that? You're hurting yourself too much."

Cloud's eyes remained focused on the silver-haired figure down below, but the blond still shook his head. "I said it's nothing, Zack, so please leave me alone... And even if there was something wrong, then why should you care, anyway?"

Zack winced as if he had been stung. "Cloud... Don't say such things. That hurts, you know?"

"I... I didn't mean for it to hurt you, Zack... I meant for it to hurt me... Me, not you... never you..." Cloud's voice was trembling again, and Zack could see the signs easily, even before Cloud went nearly frantic, leaning closer to the observation window's glass to watch as Sephiroth, finished with his practice, began to leave. "No, Sephiroth... don't go yet... please... please don't go..."

Carefully laying a hand on Cloud's shoulder, Zack said, "Come on, Cloud. Tell me what's wrong."

"Sephiroth..." Cloud strained to watch until the dark-clad man finally disappeared completely from view, and then he looked up at Zack, blue eyes wide. "Zack... I..."

"What is it?"

"I... someone told me... that..." Cloud shook his head, and this time when he looked up at Zack, it was with a small, shaky smile. "But never mind all that. I don't believe it anyway. Because I trust you, Zack. I trust you." Those last three words were whispered like a prayer, hopeful. "Can... can we have our next swimming lesson? Please?"

Zack nodded slowly, still unsure about everything that had just happened, but willing to let it go if it would make Cloud happy. "Yeah, let's go. But after that, I've gotta get some more food into you. You haven't eaten at all today, have you?"

Outside, the courtyard was nicely cool, and the pool just the right temperature, being neither too warm or too cold. Zack dove right in with barely a splash, glad to let the chlorine knock the worry out of his mind, and when he came up he saw Cloud bouncing nervously on his toes at the water's edge.

"Come on, Cloud, you can do it! Head first, straight into the water! It's just as easy as it looks, I promise!"

"But, Zack, I'm still nervous about--"

"No more excuses! Now come on!"

Cloud's brow wrinkled, and the boy took a few steps back from the edge. He took a deep breath, ran forward and closed his eyes as he leaped...

...and performed one of the most graceful bellyflops Zack had ever seen.

"Cloud?!" Zack yelped, trying to stop himself from laughing as he swam over to Cloud, who looked thoroughly embarrassed and more than a little red. "Aww, geez, we're gonna hafta work on that form of yours a little. Beautiful flop, though; I've never seen anyone do it like that before!"

Cloud glared at him, pouting, and slammed one of his hands down into the water right next to Zack's face, sending up a giant splash. Zack spluttered, then grinned straight back, and the two engaged in a massive splash-fest. At some point or another, Zack actually managed to get Cloud to laugh a little, and he began chasing Cloud all over the pool.

"Now that you're in a better mood, it's time for the promised tickle torture!"

"No! Stay away!"

"Ha, right!"

Zack dove under and sped straight toward Cloud, who had managed to reach one of the ladders. Cloud hurriedly pulled himself out of the pool, and took to running onto the grass before he realized that he really didn't have anywhere else to run... a point that Zack made blatantly obvious when he slapped his hands down on Cloud's shoulders.

"Gotcha!"

"Can I... catch my breath... at least...?"

"Ahhh, sure." The two stretched out on the grass, side by side, staring up at the stars. Zack put his hands behind his head, letting out a content sigh, while Cloud just seemed sprawled out beside him. "I like it when it's dark out here... Unlike Midgar, you can actually see the stars."

"Mmm..."

Zack turned his head, saw Cloud staring drowsily up at the sky, and his grin widened. "You know, Cloud... Seph wants to see you again."

"...me?"

"Yep. Told me so himself. How would you like that?"

Cloud's eyes drifted shut, and Zack watched as a shiver slowly worked its way through Cloud's whole body. There was that faint blush, as well, barely perceptible in the low light, but Zack caught himself growing happier at Cloud's own, wordless admission.

 _Yep, the kid is definitely displaying the signs..._ Zack rolled over onto his hands and knees, getting a little closer to Cloud, and he couldn't help but think that Cloud really did look beautiful, even in this darkness. He couldn't help himself; he felt that urge to kiss Cloud again, but a pale hand against his chest stopped him, and the weak whisper that he heard alarmed him.

"Please, Zack... don't."

Zack looked down at Cloud in confusion, but Cloud's eyes had opened again, their natural shine wavering. He stared into those eyes, trying to determine just what it was that had suddenly frightened Cloud, when it hit him over the head, as blunt as a sledge hammer.

 _Gods, he's still afraid of what happened to him, isn't he? Isn't that it? It has to be...!_

He nodded, slowly, and smiled just a little. "Okay, Cloud. I won't do anything if you don't want me to..." He stood up, stretched and grinned. "Whaddya say we hit the showers, then raid one of the vending machines for a late-night snack? Then we can hit the hay, all right?"

***

Another month had passed, and Zack noticed that Cloud was acting just a little differently than normal. He would be walking down the halls, going to meet Cloud so they could eat together, train, study, whatever, and he would turn the corner and find Ames Jennison speaking with him. Zack was happy with the thought that Cloud must have made Ames an official "friend," but on one side he was also a little jealous that someone else had managed to earn Cloud's trust.

Or had Ames earned Cloud's trust? Cloud let no outward signs show, and whenever Zack asked about Ames Cloud would always abruptly change the subject. And Ames would always see Zack coming down the hall and leave Cloud alone before Zack came too close; there was almost something secretive going on, and once more he wasn't sure whether he should feel offended or just... just...

 _What the hell is going on?_

He always vented said frustration whenever he visited Sephiroth, supposedly to leave Cloud a night alone for study--those damned exams were coming up, soon--and so he could help Sephiroth with any menial tasks he needed doing. Sephiroth listened, curious, and even once asked if Zack had offered Cloud the chance to come with him to his office, but Zack merely shook his head.

"He always declines. I'm not sure whether he's just nervous and scared, or if there's something else. But this is starting to bother me. A lot." Zack let out a low growl, shoving some finished letters into the out-box on Sephiroth's desk.

Sephiroth, who was shuffling the rest of the SOLDIER files away, glanced over his shoulder with amusement. "Who knows? Maybe they're arranging some training time together. Besides, it's probably good for Cloud. Ever since Jennison's roommate died, the recruit has thrown everything into his studies and training. He's definitely going to make it into SOLDIER."

"So... you think Cloud hanging around with Ames is a good thing?" Zack asked, not totally convinced.

Closing the last file drawer, Sephiroth turned and shrugged. "Perhaps." He frowned. "And whatever happened to your swimming lessons? You two have been swimming less and less..."

"Well... There are the exams coming up, and Cloud's gotten pretty good at it, anyway... And he never seems quite so enthusiastic about it, anymore... I dunno. There's something that's bothering him... I just wish I knew what it is."

The older man nodded again. "Perhaps you should confront Cloud about this directly. If you've gotten as close to him as you claim, then surely he'll tell you."

"Yeah, well... That's another thing that kinda bothers me. If it wasn't bad enough that I feel like Cloud's hiding something from me, then there's the feeling that he's tried to shut me off. He's not letting me get any closer at all... and it worries me."

"Hmm... I'm afraid I can't be that much help. But I still think you should try to talk to Cloud about this, especially if it worries you so much."

"Yeah... If you say so... Gah, I'm so tired..."

"You can stay here tonight, if you wish."

Zack slumped back in Sephiroth's desk chair, sighing and letting his momentum twirl the chair around, slowly, on its wheels. "Maybe. Maybe that's a good idea. Maybe Cloud just needs some time alone, or something. Still, if he doesn't know I'm coming back in, he might worry about me--"

The silver-haired man stopped the chair. "Zackary, look at the time. What time is it?"

"0100 hours. Damn. Didn't even realize it was that late."

"If it's that late, then your roommate is probably already in bed, and there's nothing more for you to worry about. He might even be easier to deal with in the morning. Now come along, and get some sleep."

"...yes, sir."

***

 _"Donovan and the Commander are..."_

Cloud lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling, blue gaze unfocused. Zack's small, old wooden and bronze clock let out a quiet chime to signal the passing of the hour; Zack said the clock was an old thing his grandfather had given him, not of much use besides a good luck charm. Cloud liked the little thing, personally; it reminded him of the old clock store that had once thrived in Nibelheim. But, like everything else in his hometown, that was dying, as well.

"One o' clock..." Cloud mumbled, bringing his mind back from its wandering reverie. He sighed, closed his eyes. "Zack's not back yet... He's been going an awful lot, recently."

 _"Don't tell me you didn't know...? Zack's been lying to you this whole time, and you didn't know?"_

And Ames's voice, smug and secretly knowing, taunting him over and over again...

 _"Look, I know you trust Donovan. But you shouldn't."_

His eyes were wet now, and he forced them open, swiped away the tears and turned over onto his side, staring now at the wall.

"Zack... Where are you...?"

 _"When you realize you've been wrong this whole time, and that you've only put your hopes up for nothing... When you realize that I was right in the first place, just like I said that night... You can always come to me. You can trust me, Cloud."_

"No..." Cloud sat up and pushed away the covers, before getting down off of his bunk and moving to his closet. He found a spare pair of jeans, put them on, and then went to Zack's desk. He knew where Zack kept his spare keycard, the one that allowed him access to almost every part of the campus, and for a few seconds he hesitated, biting his lower lip, thinking. His hand hovered uncertainly at the drawer's handle before finally grasping it and pulling it open.

Underneath the magazines and old photographs, Cloud's hand grabbed the keycard. He pulled it out, looked at it, and shoved it into his pocket.

 _"Even if you don't believe me... I dare you to find out for yourself. See what Zack's been doing without even having the decency to let you know... all this time he's been pretending to be your friend..."_

Cloud opened the door to their room and peeked outside, into the dark hallways. There was no one outside, only a small cleaning robot that scuttled across the floor. He stepped out, made sure the door closed and locked, and began making his way down the hall. The metal floor was cold against his bare feet, but he clenched his teeth and moved on, hurrying.

He had to go all the way to the very top of the barracks, all the way up to one of the highest floors, before he finally found himself standing in front of the doorway to Sephiroth's office/quarters. One hand reached into his pocket, while his other moved to knock on the doorway. It wavered there for several moments before dropping back to his side, and he swept the keycard through the lock carefully. The door opened silently, and Cloud stepped into Sephiroth's office. He was glad it was dark, otherwise he would have been staring and gaping at the room, but his eyes were focused on the single door at the back of the office, the one that led to Sephiroth's private quarters. Behind him, the door slid shut again, and Cloud's feet moved mechanically forward.

He didn't quite know what he was doing, anymore; everything had turned itself on end, and he didn't understand anything anymore. He knew that if he went beyond that door, he would be in big trouble, he would get caught and something Very Bad would happen, maybe Zack wouldn't be his friend anymore, maybe Sephiroth would hate him for entering his rooms without permission, maybe he would find out that Ames had been right all along and he had been hoping foolishly this whole time that...

Another swipe of the keycard. The door to Sephiroth's private quarters opened only an inch, silently. Cloud put his hand in the crack, started to slide the door open, when he thought he heard a low voice, somewhere. He froze, nearly panicked, his eyes searching frantically for whomever had spoken, when he realized that there was another doorway in Sephiroth's quarters, another doorway that was closed most of the way. The old-fashioned, wooden door to that room had been left partly open, and it was from in there that Cloud heard that voice.

He was standing at the doorway to the living area, and there was the kitchen, and that open door looked as if it led to a bathroom, so that meant that that door led to...

"...hope you're feeling better now," came the voice from before, low and tired but strangely... satisfied. Cloud knew that voice, as surely as he knew his own. He listened more carefully, and froze again when he heard another, achingly familiar voice answer with a soft moan.

"Gods, you're such a tease... stop it...!"

"You come to me in such a terrible mood, and expect to spend the whole night here like that? I don't think so. Relax."

"...sorry, Seph. I guess I really do need to relax, ne? Too much going on..." Zack's voice faded away into another, quieter noise, a much more content one, and Cloud unconsciously began to bite his lower lip again.

"Just forget everything, Zack. For now, just forget, and let me take care of things."

A cautious, slow step backwards, carefully sliding the door closed, and Cloud realized that his heart was pounding, his blood was rushing violently in his ears, and his whole body felt hot. For a few seconds he just stood there, staring at the door. A weak noise escaped his throat, a sound very much like a sob, and he began to back out of the room. Slowly, step by step against the carpet--he hadn't even realized that the floor in the office was carpeted, soft and warm against his cold feet--until his back hit the other door, and then he turned, frantically looking for the door's controls. He opened the door and practically ran out, ignoring the comforting click of the door locking shut again, ignoring everything except for the unfettered fear that was currently trying to ravage his heart.

He didn't even realize he was running down the halls, desperate to escape to someplace safe and comforting, until something came out from around one of the corners and slammed into him. He fell back onto the floor, gritting his teeth and trying to push himself up, and when he opened his eyes he felt all hope leave him.

"Well, well, look who's wandering around the halls where he doesn't belong... Hey, guys, get Gunther! Davidson was right; here's the slut!"

***

The first thing that they did was shove him into one of the lounges. Gunther followed him in, followed by most of his other thugs. Two of them remained outside, and the moment Cloud tried to stand to stop them from closing the door, Gunther punched him in the gut, doubling him over. Sneering, Gunther shoved him back down onto the floor, and kicked him in the side.

"Had you forgotten about me already?" Gunther growled, leaning over him and planting a heavy boot down on his chest, pinning him to the floor. "You've spent too long in Donovan's dorm, Strife, if you've already forgotten to watch your back."

"Let me go..." Cloud whispered, flinging his fists uselessly against the leg that still forced him down. "Let me... lemme go...!"

"I don't think so. It's time we finally finish this, Strife. No more running away."

A quick, urgent knock came from the door right then, and Gunther looked up angrily. He snapped at one of the others to open it, and as soon as the door opened one of the look-outs came in.

"Someone's coming! Wayne just went to tell him to piss off, but the guy just beat Wayne up! He's coming this way!" The look-out swallowed nervously. "He used a Soldier's technique, Gunther!"

"Damn...! Is it Donovan?"

"Can't tell; it's too dark!"

Gunther snarled and gave Cloud one last savage kick before turning on his heel and leaving. "You got lucky again, Strife. But you had better stay outta my way from now on!"

Cloud had clenched his whole body into a small ball, and stayed that way, even after Gunther's Gang had cleared out.

 _I can't face Zack right now, I can't, I can't do anything, I feel sick and worthless and it hurts it hurts it hurts, gods, stop it stop it now please please please please please..._

"Cloud...?" That voice... It wasn't Zack's voice at all. It was...

 _"You can always come to me. You can trust me, Cloud."_

"Cloud?! I thought it was, but... hold on, my dorm's not far from here...!"


	5. Troubled Waters

The next morning, Zack wandered back to his dorm, feeling much more optimistic about his budding troubles with his roommate. Being a Saturday, there were no classes scheduled, and--if he remembered their individual schedules correctly--neither of them had any duties to fulfill that day. He would walk in, ask Cloud about yesterday, invite him to take the day off with him, maybe go out to Midgar. Sephiroth himself had suggested that last idea, and Zack had been surprised, but the silver-haired man had only smiled enigmatically and turned back to his own schedule of the day.

After fighting with the door for a moment--"Damn it, it's acting up again...!"--Zack finally managed to get inside.

"Oi, Cloud! I'm home!"

No one responded, and Zack jumped up the first few steps of the bunk bed's ladder, staring at the vacated top bunk in surprise.

"Cloud...? Where the hell did the kid go?" Jumping back down to the floor, the black-haired Soldier wondered what could have happened to explain the disappearance of his friend. It was then that he noticed that the ominous red light on his answering machine was winking on and off, and with a frown Zack quickly hit a button.

"Saturday, 0545 hours. [Zackary Donovan? This is Ames Jennison. Look, Cloud wasn't feeling too good last night, so he came over to my dorm. He wanted me to tell you not to worry, and that he'd be back once he was feeling a little better. Thanks.] End of message."

"Cloud got sick?" Zack muttered. "Sure, he's been acting kinda weird lately, but he wasn't sick." He pressed the delete button, searching his mind for any reason at all that Cloud could have been sick. "Hmph. Even if he were sick, Cloud should've gone to the infirmary, not to Ames. He knows better than that." Grumbling to himself, Zack started for the disagreeable door again. "Well, it's only six fifteen now. Might as well drop by and see how the kid is doing..."

The walk down the halls was quiet and boring. There were few men up so early on Saturdays, with the only exceptions being those on guard duty. He saw a few leaving to get an early start on a trip to Midgar, or a few others heading out of the academy to play some sports, or get in some extra training. He finally reached Ames's door, and didn't hesitate before rapping smartly on the metal.

The door didn't open immediately, and even then it opened only to a crack, so that one cobalt blue eye could glare out at him.

"Who--oh, it's you, Donovan. Sorry. Thought it would have been someone else."

"Are you expecting someone?" Zack asked, forcing himself to grin and doing his best to appear casual. He didn't know why, but there was something about Ames this morning that really bothered him.

"You could say that. Anyway, Cloud's still not feeling well. You might wanna leave him alone."

Zack's affability melted away immediately. "What's wrong with him? And why'd he come here? Cloud knows he should head to the infirmary if he's having problems, and the infirmary's closer to our room than yours, so... What is it?"

"Cloud came here because he trusts me," Ames said, and while it was spoken like a perfectly off-hand remark, it stung. Seeing Zack's confusion, Ames just shrugged. "Look, he's not feeling well, and just standing around here making noise isn't going to make it any easier on him to rest, so why don't you just go away?"

He started to close the door, but Zack jammed one hand between the door and the frame and shoved it the rest of the way open, glaring openly at Ames.

"I don't care how close you pretend to be with my friend," Zack ground out, "but he's my friend and I want to see him!"

Ames glared at him, then shrugged and laughed. "Well, fine. I guess he can just give you the transference request personally, then."

"Transference request? What?"

"Hey, I told you to leave. It's not my fault if you broke the kid's heart. Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to the cafeteria and get some breakfast for myself... and my friend. Just don't hang around in here too long, Donovan." Ames left after that, sweeping past Zack with that smug look on his face that he utterly disliked.

As soon as Ames was gone, Zack turned back to the room, seeing that it hadn't changed much since the last time he had been there... only that Keith and all of his possessions were now missing. And where there had once been bunkbeds lining part of the walls, there was now a single bed, and in that bed, facing the wall and hiding beneath the mounds of blankets, there was a shock of pale blond hair. Zack started to come closer, but Cloud darted from under his touch and simply curled up even closer to the wall.

"Cloud--" Zack started, but Cloud cut him off, with a voice that was low with anger and bitterness.

"I'm going to be staying with Ames from now on... You'll be receiving the transfer request in a day or so. Then you won't have to worry about me again, okay, Zack? Now just leave me alone and go away."

"But why do you want to transfer?" Zack asked, forcing his own voice to remain calm, civil.

"Why? Why don't you ask me why not?" Cloud sat up, turning his own glaring eyes on Zack, and Zack saw the tracks of the tears on Cloud's face, still wet and running and smeared. "Why?! Why everything, Zack! Everything! You lied to me, you were cruel to me, you hated me and to make it worse you pretended to be my friend! You pretended to be something you never were, you never cared for me and you never wanted anything to do with me did you? You just wanted something, someone to toy with, someone else to bat around until you got bored and moved on to someone else. So it was eventual that I'd move out sooner or later, anyway, right? Right?! Damn you, stop looking at me like you don't know what I'm talking about! You know, you know, you bastard, you've always known, and that didn't stop you from hurting me, just like everyone else! I hate you, do you understand me? I hate you, and I hate SOLDIER, and I hate Sephiroth, now, too, and as soon as I can I'm going to quit and I'm going to make something of myself in another way, I'm going to be great and wonderful and awesome and then you'll see what you've lost, all of you will! All of you, I hate all of you, I hate it! Hate it!"

The blond-haired boy had broken down into hysterical sobbing, and Zack found himself unable to believe what had just happened, unable to believe what he had just heard. He could do nothing more than stare, certain that he must have been gaping but...

"Cloud... What--?"

"I heard you! I heard you, I heard you and Sephiroth, I heard everything...!" Cloud flung something at his head, and Zack caught it to see that it was his spare keycard. "Ames was right ever since the very beginning, but I didn't want to believe him, but you've been with the Commander the whole time, haven't you? Haven't you?!"

 _Oh... gods..._ Zack stared dumbly at the keycard in his hand, hearing only Cloud's crying in the background, incoherent sobs working like knives into his mind. _Cloud must have come to look for me last night, and then..._ He took a deep breath, his free hand raking through his hair as he thought, desperately, for an apology that would be sincere enough, deep enough, to reach Cloud and soothe him... reassure him...

"I hate me, I hate me, I hate..." Cloud was mumbling, now, holding onto his sides and rocking back and forth.

"Cloud," Zack said softly, taking a daring step forward by sitting down on the edge of the bed, "what did Ames tell you?"

"Zack can't be trusted, he's just using me, just using me to get his little kicks, trying to pull my strings, tring to use me and hurt me, just as bad as Gunther, can't trust Zack at all, he's fucking the Commander and he doesn't need anyone else, he'll just... just..." Cloud choked out another sob, his gaze frighteningly empty. "All this time... I thought maybe I could... have a chance... and it was never true, never, never... Sephiroth doesn't need me, doesn't want me... he never will... never..."

"Cloud," Zack said again, "I'm going to tell you the truth, now, okay? I will be honest with you. Will you listen to me?"

Cloud shook himself, and managed to have enough presence of mind to glare at Zack again. "I'll listen, but that doesn't mean I'll forgive!" he spat, and Zack took a deep breath.

 _Better than nothing... Okay, here goes._

"Yes, the Commander and I have been seeing each other for a long time. Ever since the Wutai War, in fact. We have slept with each other, and to this day I consider Seph to be one of my closest friends. Sure, sometimes he can be a mule, or sometimes have such a damn stick stuck up his ass, but he's my friend. And sometimes we get angry with each other, but in the end we're still friends. Always." Cloud was still glaring, but some of the heat and most of the edge had left those blue eyes, and Zack prayed that his words were going to make it through to him. "Yes, the Commander and I have intentionally hid our personal relationship from you. However, that is because we knew that we had to wait until the right time to tell you. Telling you too soon would break your heart, telling you at the wrong time would be a disaster, and we knew it. But, Cloud, the truth of the matter is..." He paused, saw that Cloud was completely focused on him now. "Cloud, Seph and I would be very happy if you would be our friend, and even beyond that. You know that time when he was alone with you in our dorm, and he had spoken to you? Well, later that night, I discovered that this is what he wished he had done to you then."

Before Cloud could react, Zack embraced the boy and kissed him full on the mouth. Cloud began to struggle in his arms, but Zack held him fast, and when he risked opening his eyes, he saw Cloud's own eyes were closed, and the boy had become so still... so still...

He carefully leaned back, hoping that, if nothing else had made it through Cloud's head, at least that had. He saw Cloud's eyes open wide, watched as the boy clapped a hand over his mouth as if he were unable to believe what had just happened. He looked at Zack, then, stared and began biting his lower lip, until he finally tore his eyes away.

"Look, Cloud... I want you to try to think this through--without Ames's help--and I want you to think about it all very carefully. Please consider what I've told you. I won't force you, and if you still want to quit, well... That's your decision, and, as one of the men who has fallen in love with you, I will respect that decision. So will Sephiroth, but the two of us will be very disappointed. Not only will we have lost one of the most talented young men in the whole academy..." Zack stood, clapped one hand down on Cloud's shoulder. "...but we will have lost one of the few whom we think could ever totally understand us... believe in us... and maybe even love us."

With that, Zack went to the door, opened it. "See ya later, kiddo. Be careful." Then he stepped outside, heard the door shut, and he absently asked the nearest trooper if he had seen Ames.

"Ames? Yeah, he came out of his dorm not too long ago, said something about heading to the cafeteria and then training for a bit. Looked pretty pissed."

"Thanks."

***

Cloud sat completely still for a few moments, staring down at the bed sheets, and finally rose a hand to wipe away the tears that were still falling. Of course, as soon as he had done so, a fresh tear leaked from one eye, rolled down and landed on his lips, and there was a slight sting from the salty taste.

"Can't stop... can't stop crying... now..." he whispered, realizing his voice was trembling as much as his whole body. "Zack... Zack... But Ames said I couldn't trust him anymore... But..." Cloud curled up even tighter. "Zack's kisses taste differently from Ames's... The Planet help me, what should I do...? What...?"

***

Sephiroth watched calmly as one of his men charged him, and with a neat side step and then a lunge, he grabbed the man's arm and flipped him, effortlessly, over his shoulder and onto the mat. Around the training gym stood several Second Class Soldiers, watching the fight and trying to absorb what knowledge they could about their Commander's maneuvers.

"Wutanese two-step throw maneuver from the Mizu-ryu Doujou," Sephiroth said, helping the Second Class up and then turning to face his pupils. "You've probably discovered that most of the Shinra's fighting techniques came from the Mizu-ryu Doujou. That is because the Mizu-ryu were once Wutai's strongest fighters..." He crossed his arms, and was about to continue his lesson with another student when the door to the training gym burst open and a recruit ran in.

"Commander, sir! Sir, you have to see this! Please, sir!"

Sephiroth glanced at his men, silently ordering them to stay where they were. He stalked toward the recruit, and calmly asked why his lesson had been interrupted.

"Sir, in the second training gym... Gunther, sir, he's been..." The boy shivered, gesturing weakly down the hall. "A friend and I found him with a Buster Sword through his guts, sir. My friend called the infirmary from there, but I had heard you were in here, sir, so--"

"That's enough. Take me there immediately." The recruit nodded and took off down the hall outside, finally stopping at the front of the hall, and pointing inside one of the gyms. There was already a team of medics inside, while a crowd of men had gathered outside. One sharp order from Sephiroth and they all stepped back, however, so he could enter.

The Buster Sword had been removed and set aside, and Sephiroth soon saw what the men had been talking about when they had mentioned Gunther's guts. They were hanging out of the gigantic hole in Gunther's body, while the candidate's blood pooled on the floor. The lead medic looked up as Sephiroth approached, and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, sir. He was gone even before those kids found him." The man looked down at Gunther's corpse quizzically. "You see, he wasn't killed by the sword impalation... He was drowned."

"What?" Sephiroth muttered, and the medic responded by hitting Gunther's chest, as hard as he possibly could. Gunther's body jerked, and Sephiroth watched as a trickle of water came from his mouth. "Someone drowned him? But he looks fairly dry."

"Begging my pardon, sir, but I've already checked his lungs myself. There's too much water in there. We would like to take him in to Midgar to perform an autopsy, and maybe call in some investigators, sir, so we can figure out who did this. Because, sir, this simply was not an accident."

Sephiroth nodded and looked outside the gym, to the crowd. "You, there, Jacobson! I want you to send the message to Midgar. As for the rest of you, get out of the way of the medic team. We need to get this body out of here. You, you, and you, I want you to clean up this mess. And you, Kaen, take the Buster Sword to the infirmary with the medics--make sure you don't touch it with your bare hands!" Pausing as the group sprung to action, Sephiroth could think of only one more thing to do before he had to face Heidegger's wrath.

 _Zackary... We might have a problem on our hands._

***

Ames had been practicing by himself in another one of the training gyms, and was about to leave and head for the showers, when he heard one of the doors on the far end of the gym open and--

"Jennison! Stop right there!"

Ames stopped when he heard that voice call his name, and turned around, dropping his training sword when he saw Zack storming toward him. Ames had only seen an expression of that much anger once, and he certainly recognized it now; he immediately glanced around for a path of escape, but before he could think of anything reasonable, a fist had grabbed and lifted him by the front of his shirt and slammed the recruit against the nearest wall.

"WHAT did you say to him?" Zack growled, shoving Ames harder against the wall, eyes narrowed and glowing in pure fury. "What? What the hell did you say?! How dare you!"

"I don't know... what you're talking about..." Ames choked, squirming in Zack's hold as if he were helpless.

"Don't fuckin' lie to me!" The first blow was a sharp one to his left cheek, strong and unfettered. Ames gasped for air, stared in shock at the vertigo around him, blinking uncertainly until the flashing spots finally died away. "Tell me, Ames. Tell me what you told Cloud. How long has this been going on, huh? How long have you been poisoning him? Tell me!"

"Poison him?" Ames sputtered, eyes growing wide.

Zack let out a gutteral noise, and Ames vision was flooded with another burst of bright lights as the First Class slammed him into the floor. The wind was knocked out of him, and it took him a few moments to realize that Zack had demanded that he talk, that he tell the truth.

"I'm not buying that act of yours...!" Zack bent down, grabbing Ames by the throat. "Now, don't make it any worse on yourself and tell me!"

Before Ames could open his mouth to make any reply whatsoever, the door to the training gym opened a second time and James came in, his face and voice urgent.

"Sir! Come quick! This's urgent, and Sephiroth needs to speak to you now!"

"What is it?" Zack snapped, and James pointed outside.

"Gunther's been murdered! They've already notified Heidegger, and they've already got an investigation team on the way. The Commander says he needs you in his office, pronto!"

"Damn it..." Zack turned his eyes back to Ames. "Listen, Jennison. I don't know what the hell you've done to him, but you're going to pay for it. All of it. I don't want you spreading any more of your lies from now on, and if I find out you've done anything else to Cloud...!" With a low growl he stood, turning away. "We'll finish this later, Jennison."

Zack ran out with James, and for a few seconds Ames just stayed where he was, on the floor. A small smirk spread over his face just as soon as the door closed, and he started to laugh.

"A little jealous, now, aren't we?! Ha! Oh, we'll see who's sorry after this little slip-up, Donovan... We'll see...!" Pushing himself up, Ames slowly clenched one fist, stared at the marking on the back of his hand, so small that most people would never have noticed...

"You should have killed me when you had the chance, Donovan."

***

By the time Zack managed to fight his way through the crowds of men running all over the academy, word had already spread through the whole place that Gunther was dead. Speculation over the cause of his death had already become one of the most popular subjects, as some of the rumor mongers actually thought the sword had killed him, while others said he was drowned and found in the pool, while still others claimed it had been something else. However, even more popular speculation abounded that was spoken in quiet whispers, in the corners, that beat all...

"Who murdered Gunther?"

Some claimed it had to have been one of the members of his own group, due to some fall-out. Gunther's Gang protested that they had nothing to do with it, and that it had to have been someone else... someone who must have had an angry grudge with Gunther.

Zack managed to pick up some of the rumors on his way to the office, and by the time he had reached the first door he was wondering exactly what had happened. As soon as the door slid open he stepped in, to see Sephiroth standing beside his desk, staring at the preliminary medical report that was already on his desk.

"Seph, what the hell happened? The whole place has gone crazy!" Zack came up to the desk, and Sephiroth glanced up at him.

"The medics at the infirmary have narrowed his death to a window from 0400 hours to 0600 hours. His body was already stiff when they had come across it, and the blood was mostly drying, and the stench was too strong. Gunther must have been dead for some time." Sephiroth crossed his arms, closing his eyes. "Two recruits, trying to get in some extra training, found him in one of the gyms, with a Buster Sword stuck through him and his insides clearly visible."

"Meaning it was a murderer, and he died from impalement?"

"That would be the easy answer," Sephiroth mumbled, and shook his head, leaning down and picking up the report. "But his lungs were full of water, which suggests that he drowned. But no one knows who did what, and how they did it."

"So, where's Gunther now?"

"In a bodybag in the infirmary. As soon as the transports arrive, he's going back to Midgar for a full autopsy." The slight frown on Sephiroth's face deepened. "Heidegger is not pleased."

"I imagine not." Zack noticed just how worried Sephiroth seemed, and glanced over his shoulder to make sure the door was closed. As soon as he was certain no one could be listening in on them, he turned back around and asked, "What's bothering you?"

"Some of the Turks have been sent to investigate, and to begin the cover-up. There is word that Hojo might be coming to help with the investigation, as well."

"The Turks and Hojo?" Zack murmured. "Isn't that overkill?"

"What can you do when the victim is a relative to the head of the Shinra's combined military forces?" Sephiroth said. "And, also, some of the men are already being questioned, or rounded up for questioning." The tall man took a deep breath before turning to head toward his quarters. "Cloud Strife is one of them."

"Cloud? Oh, no... Seph, Cloud... Cloud's not in the right state of mind for a questioning!"

Sephiroth stopped at the doorway to his quarters, looking back at Zack with the smallest gleam of confusion in his eyes. "What is it, Zack?"

"I'm not saying anything until we're in your quarters; I know those are soundproof, anyway."

As soon as they were in Sephiroth's living area, Zack sat down in one of the Commander's armchairs while the other man went to stand in front of the windows, looking down. Zack took a deep breath, and then told Sephiroth everything he could about that morning... about the message on his answering machine, going to Ames's dorm, finding Cloud there... what had happened afterwards... and then even going on to his last encounter with Ames... As soon as he finished, he looked to Sephiroth in hopes that he might have some sort of advice, but for the longest time Sephiroth said nothing. Then:

"Zack. The investigation team from Midgar just arrived. If you're going to say anything to Cloud, then do so immediately. And pray you get to him before the Turks do."

Sephiroth had barely finished before Zack was out the door and running down the halls.

Sephiroth just listened to his old friend's vanishing footsteps, watching as the transports landed right outside the campus. He closed his eyes again, his left hand twitching unconsciously.

 _Hojo..._

***

Tseng stepped out of the helicopter with an inward sigh of relief. Personally, he hated Hojo, and he hated being crammed in the same area with the professor even worse. He knew it just couldn't be healthy to sit so close to the man. There was that horrible, corrosive aura that followed Hojo wherever he went, and he was thankful that Hojo's damned eyes had remained relatively unfocused during the flight. Whatever Hojo had been thinking about, at least it hadn't had anything to do with him and his potential as a future research specimen.

Hojo was always thinking about his precious specimens. Tseng hated that.

Besides him, Reno made a slight gagging noise, mimicking his own distaste as Hojo finally got out of the helicopter, slightly stooped and squinting from the glare of the sun.

"Heh, I've never been to the SOLDIER campus before," Reno said, shouldering his nightstick and moving closer to the massive metal walls that guarded the campus. "Nice place. Sephiroth's own private kingdom, huh?"

"He's spent more time here recently, since the numbers of SOLDIER applicants has grown," Tseng said, quickly. "That and there hasn't been much need for him to stay in Midgar, not with his second-in-command there."

"Yeah, no shit." Reno shot Tseng another insolent grin. "I'm just glad Rude drew the short straw and had to stay behind to help with the new Turk recruits. It ain't too often that we get out of Midgar these days."

Hojo finally walked ahead of them, a slight frown on his face as he glared at the campus walls. "Hmmm... So, this is..." He turned to glance at the Turks. "Are we ready, gentlemen? I thought you had an investigation to get underway."

Tseng ignored the professor's snide undertone and walked up to the gates just as they began to open, and Sephiroth stood on the other side to greet them. Tseng and Sephiroth exchanged quick, curt nods, while Reno lazily saluted the Commander and Hojo grinned.

"We already have the body in a bag so it can be taken back to Midgar immediately," Sephiroth said as they stepped through the gates. "I also had some of my men begin the investigation. They've started a list of men you might wish to question."

Tseng nodded. "Reno, go on ahead, get in contact with..." He paused, looking to Sephiroth, who quickly supplied a name. Reno sauntered off, and Tseng turned his attention back to Sephiroth.

"I would like to go over the preliminary report with you. As for you, Hojo--"

"I would like to see the corpse before it's taken to Midgar," Hojo said quickly.

"I guess that's permissable. Sephiroth?"

Sephiroth turned around. "Matreyas!" he snapped, and one of the SOLDIER recruits jogged toward them. "Take Professor Hojo to the infirmary so he can run a quick inspection over Gunther's remains. Be quick about it!"

Matreyas saluted him, nodded to the professor, and turned on his heels. Hojo followed him with surprising speed, and as soon as the two were gone, Sephiroth turned away to lead Tseng to his office.

"The report's still on my desk. I've gone over it at least twenty times, but I still can't find any real evidence we might be able to use. I know you and the rest of your team will probably desire to see the footage from our security cameras, so I've left that alone for your use."

"Strangely considerate of you, Commander," Tseng said, allowing a small smile to grace his normally expressionless features.

Sephiroth glanced at him. "I imagine Heidegger's even more upset than he let on during that phone call..."

"If it's at all humanly possible. Several of the nearest troopers wound up in the infirmary. The man has a temper tantrum that's possibly larger than himself... In any case, I imagine the sooner we find the culprit responsible for this, the sooner his rage will be placated, and the sooner we'll all be better off."

"Yes." They entered the inner section of campus, stepping onto the green grass of the courtyard, and for a moment Sephiroth paused, staring thoughtfully at their surroundings.

"Commander? Is something wrong?"

Sephiroth's reply as they started walking again was almost absent. "No... I just thought of something."

"Is it something I should be concerned about?"

"No. Just a random thought."

They were silent the rest of the way to Sephiroth's office, and once there the Commander handed Tseng the preliminary and then sat down behind his desk. He watched as Tseng quickly read over the report, and once Tseng finished he raised his head.

"Sephiroth?"

"Yes?"

"We are in some deep shit."

The Commander smirked. "I warned you over the phone that this wasn't going to be easy. Care for a drink before you start work?"

***

"Cloud?" Zack said, knocking on the door to Ames's dorm. "Cloud, I know you're in there... Open up, okay? Please!"

"Donovan, what are you doing here?"

Zack turned around to see one of his fellow Soldiers. "I'm looking for a friend of mine. Cloud Strife. I thought he was here, but no one's answering..."

"Isn't he that short blond kid? With the blue eyes?"

"Yeah. That's the one." Zack turned back to the door, but his friend interrupted him.

"Don't bother. He's not there."

"Huh? How do you know?"

"I saw him just a few moments ago, down the hall. He had a really weird look on his face." His friend frowned. "Has something happened to the kid? He looked..."

"I'd rather not get into that," Zack said. "But thanks, anyway. Do you have any idea where he was headed?"

"Umm, well... He could have been heading back to your dorm, but it'd be either there or the library or the cafeteria." As Zack murmured another quick thank-you and hurried past him, his friend called out, "Good luck, Zack! Lemme know if you need any help!"

"Yeah, thanks!" Zack quickly routed out the quickest way to check all three spots. He wasn't sure if Cloud had gone back to their dorm-- _Oh, the Planet so help me, but I hope he has...!_ \--so he planned to swing around in a circle. First the cafeteria, then the library, and then the dorm. Quick and simple.

"Excuse me, have you seen Cloud Strife here?"

"Strife? The blond kid? Geez, Zack, don't tell me you lost him again? Nah, though, haven't seen him. Might wanna check the library, though."

The library was an even faster check; apparently, in the rush of the morning, it had remained closed. That only left the dorm. He nearly ran back, hoping he'd beat the Turks; already he had seen some of the Soldiers rounding up recruits and others for questioning. When he skid into his squadron's hall, he saw one Soldier conversing with Valon and Tar. He caught Tar's eyes and motioned quickly for him to stall the Soldier as much as possible, and Tar sent him a nearly imperceptible nod. With a grateful grin, Zack went quickly to the door to his dorm, and unlocked it.

He squeezed in and closed the door as soon as possible, letting out a sigh of relief that he had made it before any of the men on the investigation team did, and turned around when he heard a familiar, awkward voice speak his name.

"Zack...?"

It was Cloud, all right, sitting on top of his bunk with his legs dangling over the side. He still appeared to be very pale--too pale, Zack thought--and he sat hunched over, shoulders drawn up slightly and body tensed, and the blue gaze still seemed very uncertain.

"Cloud, you're back!" Zack exclaimed, nearly letting out a laugh of relief. Ignoring Cloud's yelp, he plucked the boy off of his perch and into one of his massive bearhugs. "I didn't believe it, though I wanted to, when I heard that you were coming down this way and might have gone into the dorm...! Oh, thank the Planet you're back!"

"Zack... can't breathe...!"

"Huh? Oh, sorry about that." Zack hastily separated himself from Cloud to give the boy some breathing room, but as Cloud caught his breath, Zack also saw that he was smiling again. It wasn't a very big smile, but it was still a smile. "Cloud, are you sure you're okay? With this? With me? I know you probably trusted Ames, and I know what he said probably all but shattered what trust you held in me, but--"

Cloud had placed a halting finger over his lips, and the gleam in his eyes was shy... perhaps even a little fearful.

"Zack... Please... I want to believe you. I feel like I should." Before Zack knew it, Cloud was hugging him again, tightly. "Ames... I always felt afraid when I was with him... afraid... But you don't make me feel afraid. You're different... You make me feel..."

"Cloud?" Zack whispered, looking down at the soft spikes of blond hair, wishing he could see Cloud's face. "Cloud, did Ames do anything to you?" Cloud shivered against him, and only tightened his grip in response. "Oh, that bastard..." Just then, another thought struck him, and Zack went on urgently, "Cloud, do you have any idea what happened this morning? With Gunther?"

"No..."

"He's... They found him, dead, in one of the training gyms. Not just dead, but murdered. What's worse, they're already rounding people up for questioning, and, Cloud... you're one of them."

Cloud froze, but his voice was shaking in pure terror. "Zack... No, I didn't, you know I couldn't have--"

"Hey, I do. And I'm going to do my damnedest to make sure that you're all right and they can't pin anything on you. But, the Planet help us, they sent Turks to deal with this whole investigation, because Heidegger was so pissed... Listen, Cloud, and listen to me very carefully. Whatever happens, don't lie to the Turks. Don't lose your integrity just because there's an easy way out. Stand up for yourself, do what you can to protect yourself, but be careful about what you do and say. I think you'll be fine, and Seph and I will be working to see if we can't try to figure some of this out ourselves. If we can do anything to help, you know we will."

"They're... they're going to pin me as a suspect, aren't they?"

"Unfortunately... But you do as I said, okay, Cloud? Did you hear me?" Just then, there was a knock at the door, and the two of them both looked up.

"Zackary Donovan? This is Simmons. I'm looking for Cloud Strife."

Zack looked down at Cloud, saw the boy shaking. "Cloud, just do everything I told you, okay? Cloud? Okay?"

"Zack, we know you're in there! Open up! This is an official investigation, you know!"


	6. Discipline

Reno looked up as Simmons came in with the last of the recruits. He motioned for Simmons to take up guard duty at the door, and then motioned for the recruits to join up with the long line of men against the wall. They hurriedly obeyed, and Reno smirked as he shouldered his nightstick.

 _Good. Ol' Seph managed to teach these rookies some discipline._ He let his cold blue eyes sweep down the line, taking in some minor details. "Okay, kiddies, listen up. My name's Reno, and I'm a Turk. That's right, a Turk, so go ahead and get your gawking in now while you still can. Generally, we Turks leave this sort of investigation up to the Shinra police, but due to the nature of this crime... Well, hell, I'm certain all of ya have heard about Gunther. And Heidegger ain't too happy with this. So, here's the deal.

"Despite what anyone else has said, we have not rounded you up as witnesses or suspects." He chuckled. "Not yet, anyway. We're just going to send everyone through a quick, routine questioning. Fairly easy stuff, really. It shouldn't take but a minute for each person. Once that's done, most of you will probably be dismissed and sent back to your dorms. The rest of you will be withheld until we can figure out exactly what to do with ya." He absently twirled the nightstick, his eyes moving more slowly down the group. "Is that understood?" Several hasty nods, a few yessir's scattered down the line. "Good. Now, first thing's first. I don't know any of you by sight, so I'm gonna start at one end of the line and ask you two simple questions. Name and rank. I'm pretty sure we can handle that, right, kiddies?"

With that said, Reno started at one end of the line, staring at each recruit or Soldier and storing the memory of each face into his mind, associating it with name and rank, for easy future reference. It also gave him the chance to judge some of their characters...

 _This guy's too sullen... gotta keep an eye on him... This one's too complacent. How the hell'd he become a recruit for SOLDIER?_

It went on like that, until he reached the last group of recruits, the ones that Simmons had brought in. He stopped in front of one, becoming slightly confused as he looked at him.

 _Blond hair, blue eyes, fair complexion... and easily the slightest build out of all of these guys. Okay, who the hell are you, kid?_ Reno frowned, and voiced aloud his question. "State your name and rank, kid."

The small kid instantly rattled off his name and position. "Cloud Strife, SOLDIER candidate under Zackary Donovan, Soldier First Class."

Both of Reno's eyebrows raised in quick surprise, and he looked at the face even longer, finding it somehow very hard to believe. _Zack took in this scrawny runt? What was Zack thinking? He always gets the best, always, always... So what's up between this kid and Zack? I'm gonna hafta remember this._

***

Cloud tried desperately not to twitch or shift uncomfortably beneath the Turk's intense stare, especially since that look of concentration had passed over Reno's face. It was as if he must have recognized him from somewhere, and that worried him, especially because of the up-coming questioning.

Still, that was on the inside. On the outside, Cloud played his part well. He stared directly ahead, imitating Zack during his most intense moments of SOLDIER training, hardening his face, tensing his whole body, unallowing any emotion to leak through his mask.

 _I'm Cloud Strife, Soldier First Class. Nothing can beat me. Nothing can scare me. Not even a Turk. Nothing. Nothing, nothing, nothing..._

The mantra faded, and suddenly Reno cracked a small grin, leaning back. The threatening moment had passed, but Cloud did not allow himself to relax.

"I'm gonna have fun with you, kid," Reno said, his gaze lingering on him a little bit longer before he finally moved on to the next recruit.

As soon as Reno had moved on, the spell was broken, and Cloud nearly took in a gasp of air, glad that the Turk was gone, glad that he hadn't broken. He hadn't broken, he had proven himself strong, and he would keep up that front as long as he could, just like Zack had said. He would make himself stronger than he really was, if that was what it took.

If it could stop everything that had happened...

Reno had reached the last trooper, and after he had finished absorbing the trooper's features, the Turk went back to the front of the room. "All right. I'm going to pull all of you in randomly. You, there. Hawkinson. You're first. The rest of you are to wait in that lounge. I'm gonna have two Soldiers out here guarding the doors, so don't even think of trying anything. Cooperate, and this whole thing will go a lot easier on ya."

With that, the whole group of them was herded into the lounge, and several of them raced to get the best seats on the couches, sofas, or armchairs. A few claimed the tables, and the unlucky ones were stuck with the floor or walls.

Cloud hadn't really paid any attention to any of the other questionees until now, when he was trapped in a whole room of them. He swallowed, let his eyes search over a few of them.

The Soldiers... He knew some of the Soldiers, if only because of Zack. They were good men, honest men, part-time instructors to the new recruits. He thought he could trust them. Then there were the recruits. Some of them looked skittish, like he was certain he did, but the others... The ones he recognized... Those were the ones he feared.

...because all of them belonged to Gunther's Gang.

Feeling acutely uncomfortable, Cloud searched for the most inconspicuous corner and sat down in it, curling up and watching, waiting. After the first few tense moments had passed, several of the men opened up conversations, started gossiping about things. Cloud felt the tense pressure in the room die down, and relaxed as he watched the others. Reno appeared at the door periodically, calling out a name or pointing to someone with his nightstick, beckoning them to follow him. The questionees that returned always appeared triumphant, as if they had come victorious from some battle, and boasted that none of the questions were important, none of them were anything too hard to handle. Only the Soldiers seemed truly nonchalant, acting as if the whole thing were a trifle.

But as more and more of the men came and went, Cloud started to feel a little nervous. Why hadn't Reno called for him? He wasn't going to be the last one, was he? He didn't want to be the last. He had a very sickening feeling that he simply did not want to be the last. Something very, very bad would happen.

However, when Reno appeared at the door for the last time, Cloud had felt his hopes sag. Of course.

"Strife! You're the last one, kid. Hurry up."

He pushed himself to his feet, felt several of the questionees' eyes on him, and tried desperately to ignore them. Right before the door closed behind his back, he thought he heard one of the recruits snicker, and that made him even more alarmed. For a few seconds, his mask cracked, and he felt an undeniable fear surge through him. His eyes glanced around for some sign of escape, but there were Soldiers posted at every door, and Reno was leading him to one of those doors.

Resigning himself to his fate, he managed to control himself, force that emotionless mask on himself again, and waited for Reno to motion him in.

Reno had chosen one of the instructors' offices for his questioning room, and Cloud had been here before. It was for registration into some of the advanced programs; the instructor in charge of those particular programs had wanted to ask him some questions regarding his background and past grades. Cloud had been nervous, back then... and now, he was beyond nervous. He felt as if he were on the verge of a breakdown.

"Siddown, kid," Reno said, tapping his nightstick on one of the plush armchairs in the room. Cloud immediately did so, and for the longest time Reno stood in front of him, staring at him. Finally, the Turk grinned and sat down in the chair right across from him. "I dunno what the other guys in there have been sayin' all this time, but there's no reason for you to be so scared, kid. Not yet, anyway. This isn't some sort of interrogation, and I ain't gonna execute anybody right now. Especially not some scrawny recruit."

"I'm not scared," Cloud said, trying to keep his voice calm.

Reno chuckled. "Zack landed himself with a good one, didn't he? Listen, kid, I could smell the fear on ya the moment I saw ya. You see, when you've been a Turk as long as I have, you learn to pick up these things. And you, kid, are so scared I'm surprised your knees ain't knockin'. You're good at pretending, but there ain't a reason for you to pretend anymore, so lay off. Like I said, I'm not gonna kill anyone just yet." The red-headed Turk paused. "How'd a kid like you get to know somebody like Zack? He only takes in the best, so there must be some strength to ya."

Cloud blinked. "Soldier Donovan is my friend."

"Ahh, cut the protocol crap. Zack doesn't like it, and neither do I." He crossed his arms. "He's your friend, huh?"

Realizing that this had to be part of the questioning, Cloud tried to relax a little. As long as Reno didn't ask anything too private, there wasn't any harm in answering truthfully.

"Yes. Zack is... a very good friend..."

"Does he train with you?"

Cloud nodded. "Nearly every day, when we aren't too busy."

"How are your grades, kid?"

Cloud looked down at his hands. "In my academic and strategic courses, I've been making superiors... In my physical courses, I've been improving."

"How much?"

"I got close to a superior score in my last martial arts class. I'm going to progress to the fifth course soon. My other classes I've gotten above average..."

"How did you use to do?"

Cloud tried not to look or feel too embarrassed. "Poorly," he admitted. He glanced up at Reno, who was still staring at him, thoughtful.

"What about swordplay?"

"My last test I only made three mistakes. I almost had a superior score."

"Who administered the test and who was the judge?"

Cloud swallowed nervously. "Zack administered the test. General Wolff was the judge."

Reno blinked in amazement. Even though Cloud had no idea what the Turk was thinking, he could tell that he must have surprised Reno somehow. He wasn't sure, but he thought that might have been a good thing.

"Whoa. I see. Now, Strife, I'm going to go ahead and warn you. The other guys I've questioned... Hell, I don't trust most of them, but so far most of the answers I've gotten... what little evidence we already have... points to you. So, I advise you answer honestly. Got that?"

Cloud nodded.

"First question. Where were you this morning between one and six o' clock?"

"I... was staying in Ames Jennison's dorm."

"Why weren't you with Zack?"

"Zack had gone that evening to help Sephiroth with some paperwork, and so I could study. But I didn't feel good, so I went to bed. I... felt sick... so I went to Jennison's dorm to spend the night."

"Why didn't you go to the infirmary?"

"I didn't think it was that serious. I just wanted to stay with someone I knew. Someone... I thought I could trust, in case something did happen."

"So you stayed with Jennison."

"Yes, sir."

"And you were in the dorm the whole time?"

Cloud nodded again, his stomach starting to tie itself in knots. There was this pool of guilt resting there, and he had to swallow again, this time to keep the bile down.

Reno seemed confused. "I see. Okay, then. The troopers said that you and Gunther had had problems before. You provoked him into fighting with you on several occasions. Is that true?"

"No, sir. I never provoked Gunther."

"It was the other way around?"

"Yes, sir."

"How bad have some of these fights been?"

Another, quick swallow. "Very... very bad."

"How bad?"

"I... I..." Cloud shook his head, shut his eyes. _Gods, I'm going to get sick..._

"Strife, how bad were those fights? Did Gunther ever break anything?"

Cloud shook his head quickly. "No... never broke any bones... Cracked a few... He liked to use... use knives... and his bare hands..."

"They mentioned one specific night in the courtyard. They said that one was entirely your fault. Care to elaborate?"

"I was... coming back from studying in the library, and they saw me, so I ran for the courtyard..."

If at all possible, Reno's voice sounded even colder, more distant, than before. "You're saying that you didn't challenge Gunther to a fight." It didn't even sound like a question. Cloud shook his head. "They came across you."

"They were looking for me...!" He was remembering the entire event all too clearly, and he couldn't help it; it was as if he could feel every kick, punch, slash, all over again.

"So they found you."

"I couldn't do anything...! Couldn't fight! Too many... They were laughing, and... and all I could do was run!" His hands clenched the spare fabric of his uniform, knew his hands were sweating again but wiping them might look too bad, he didn't want Reno to see just how much this was hurting him. He had to be strong, he knew that, he knew that more than anything else.

But still...

"What did they do, Strife?"

 _"Well, we'll see about that, won't we? Let's see exactly how much you'll like it when I fuck you, huh?"_

"No...!" Cloud was out of the seat and over the nearest wastebasket in a second, the pain in his body so great that he had to hold onto the nearby desk for support, his limbs shaking so much he was down on his knees. He shut his eyes against the burning tears of the memory, the fear of what had been about to happen that night and what had finally happened, when he had been so afraid that he had killed the very thing he loved the most in the whole world...

But he had had nothing to eat that morning, nothing at all, so as he hacked and coughed and heaved, nothing came up but blood and bile, in attacks that wracked his whole body, and if that wasn't bad enough, Reno was standing over him, shouting to someone... and he couldn't understand what he was saying.

Finally, he managed to stop himself, and as soon as he did he heard Zack beside him, wiping his face with a cold wet cloth.

"Don't worry, Cloud, it's okay... Reno told me what you were talking about, it's okay, don't worry... You don't have to tell him anymore... You don't have to tell anyone... Okay?"

"I tried... I tried, Zack," Cloud whispered hoarsely. "I tried, but I couldn't... couldn't stop myself..."

"Hey, it's okay. Come on, let me get your face s'more..." Zack took the wastebasket aside, handed it to someone, but Cloud's vision seemed to extend only so far; after Zack, everything else was blurry, and he couldn't see. "Here, get that junk outta here. Come on, Cloud, let's get you to lay down, see if we can't get any liquid in you... Hold on..."

***

The Turks both stood off to one side, watching as Zack fussed over Cloud's health, constantly comforting and criticizing the boy for being too extreme. They weren't in the infirmary--Zack had said, sternly, that he wasn't going to let Cloud near there while Hojo was around--but in the campus's disciplinary block. They had already gone over their list, narrowed it down to three suspects, and had kept the rest of Gunther's Gang split into separate cells for further questioning.

"What do you think?" Tseng said quietly, crossing his arms and watching as Zack replaced the cold cloth on Cloud's forehead one last time. It looked as if the blond had finally gotten to sleep.

"Well, the kid is a friend of Zack's... and Sephiroth's..." Reno muttered. "That in itself works to the kid's merit."

"Innocence by association?"

"Yeah, kinda. And Zack did tell me what happened that night, that the kid couldn't talk about. I had thought it was bad, but I didn't know it was that bad..."

Tseng raised a questioning eyebrow.

His subordinate frowned. "Attempted rape. Sephiroth himself stopped Gunther before he managed to get beyond mere abuse, but it was too close for the kid, apparently. Worse, Sephiroth reported Gunther's misbehavior to Heidegger directly. Heidegger basically told him something to the effect of 'Fuck off. Don't bother me with such nonsense.' As if he thought his nephew was above that sort of thing... Sephiroth had no choice but to let it go." Reno started to inspect his ever-present nightstick more closely. "It gets more interesting, of course, from the information I've gleaned. This thing has been going on ever since Strife arrived. After one first fight, well... Gunther's Gang says that Strife provoked Gunther. Zack says Gunther's just been itching to fight the kid, and looked for every opportunity to do so. He wasn't able to do anything much... more like hit-and-runs, really... Insult the kid here, beat the kid there, until it got worse and worse... We're talking serious shit."

"So, do you think Strife did it, or don't you?"

"I want to say he didn't. However, he's got motivation like hell to kill Gunther. We can't just let him go, that's for damn sure." Reno scowled. "I'm not entirely sure if he's telling the truth about being in another dorm all night, either. That late at night, going to another dorm... I don't know. There's something weird going on. However, I've already tried to pull Ames Jennison in for a questioning, but I can't get near him. He's been helping Hojo at the infirmary."

Tseng nodded. "Hojo's being possessive again, is he?"

"Yeah, that sly bastard... I almost feel as if there's some sorta freakin' conspiracy going on, here."

"Hmph. And the other suspects?"

"All of Gunther's Gang lied about one point. Gunther only had one right-hand man... Like Zack and the Commander, you know? Well, half of Gunther's little troupe claims that Danis Freud was his right-hand man... the other half claims that Kenneth Goyles was... and both of them claim that the other one is. I can't get a straight answer out of any of 'em. The only thing they can agree on is that it's all Strife's fault."

"So. We have Strife, Freud, and Goyles. Great."

"Look, boss, I've done the best I can in this short amount of time." Reno grinned. "I wouldn't mind interrogatin' some of these chicken shits more properly, myself. Might end this whole investigation a lot sooner."

"We're under orders not to harm any of the men, if at all possible." Tseng's frowned deepened. "As it is, Hojo and his part of the investigation crew are leaving within thirty minutes, if they haven't slithered off already. We should be hearing more from them soon. Until then, I want you to check out the academy's security footage, perhaps speak to some of the guards from that night and morning. And as soon as Strife is up, we're putting him into a solitary cell, away from the other suspects and witnesses."

"Gotcha. Anything you want me to tell Sephiroth?"

"No. I've already spoken with him. We've come to a mutual agreement. The academy's going to be shut down until this investigation is over. Every man will be confined to his dorm, except for the Soldiers on guard duty. Meals will be done in shifts. So will training in the gyms. The courtyard and pool area are off-limits. SOLDIER candidates are to be allowed one trip to the library per day in order to help them keep up with their studies. Assignments will be issued through the network and email systems."

Reno let out a low whistle. "Whoa. Got this whole place locked down, huh?"

"Yes. Until this investigation is over."

"Hey, most of the prisoners are candidates or recruits. What about them?"

"Some of them aren't taking academics. Those that are told us not to bother. The only exception is Strife." Tseng glanced meaningfully at Reno. "I suspect Dononvan will come by with at least the boy's laptop, and perhaps some study materials. If he needs anything from the library, Donovan will have to bring it to him. Other than that, the cells shall remained closed. I already have everything else coordinated, so don't worry about the rest of it."

"Good. Less work for me. Right, I'm off."

Reno was about to leave, just as Zack came out, carrying an unconscious Cloud Strife in his arms. Both of the Turks looked at him, and Zack nodded.

"I told him the news as soon as he was feeling better. He knows he's a suspect, he knows he's going to be in a cell when he wakes up. He's willing to cooperate. So, which one?"

"I'll show ya," Reno said, nodding to Tseng before heading off quickly. As they walked, Reno looked down at the sleeping form in Zack's arms, saw that the dark-haired man was holding him very carefully so he didn't jostle or bounce. Before long, they entered the section with the solitary cells, and passed the cells holding the other suspects and questionees. There were several empty cells between those and the very last one on the hall, which Reno unlocked personally. He followed Zack in as the Soldier carried his young friend inside, and with a quiet voice remarked, "So, you've really taken well to him, huh, Zack?"

Zack glanced up at Reno as he laid Cloud down carefully on the single cot, then got up. When he replied, it was in an equally quiet whisper. "Yeah, Reno, so don't you try to pull anything off on him. He belongs to no one but myself and Seph, so lay off."

"Damn. If it wasn't for that, I was hoping on making a pass at him."

The two both cracked grins, and Reno said, "We're gonna hafta catch up while I'm here. Rude's a lotta fun and all, but he can be so dull sometimes. Too damned caught up in his sentimental angst to have fun, ya know?"

"You're still the same, Turk... Now, let's get outta here and let the kid rest. And if I do catch you trying to make a pass at him, I'll personally kick your ass."

"Heh, heh... Yes, sir. But it's all fun and games, honest...!"

"Uh-huh, sure."

***

 _"Here you go... drink up."_

 _Cloud accepted the glass of water with a shaking hand, and it required both to lift the glass to his lips. When he lowered the glass, he left a small smudge of blood on the rim, and he unconsciously licked his lip to try to stop the slow flow of ruddy liquid._

 _"So...sorry..." Cloud whispered, taking another sip, and not looking directly at Ames._

 _"Well, at least now you know for a certainty," Ames said, sitting beside Cloud on the bed and looking at him. "Are you feeling any better?"_

 _Cloud shook his head, slowly, unsure exactly what he felt. "No... not better... not better at all..." He finished the rest of the water, for awhile holding the glass closely to himself, eyes closed, savoring the cold against his hands. It was a good cold, a numbing cold._

 _"Don't worry, Cloud," Ames said, carefully reaching over and picking up the glass. "Gunther will pay for this. He won't get away with this forever. And don't even start to think about Donovan and the Commander. Don't even start. Those two aren't worth your time, the backstabbing bastards..."_

 _"But... I... I thought I..." Cloud ran a hand over his face, staring down at his lap, his eyes empty. "I don't wanna go back," he said, his voice hollow. "I don't wanna go back, don't wanna see them ever again... never, ever, never..."_

 _"Then don't. Don't see them ever again. Don't even think about going back. You can stay here, with me. Or you can quit. I can get you an apartment in Midgar, you can stay there." Ames's smile was a soft one, oddly comforting. "You'll see. I'll become the best Soldier there is. I'll fulfill your dream for you, and you can become the best scholar, or something... You like to learn and all, and you always ace your academics courses, so you'd do fine like that. You'll come up with one of the best scientific discoveries of all, and I even know how to get you in with one of the best professors of this age."_

 _Cloud looked up at Ames through his long lashes and bangs, still unsure. "I don't know... I just don't... wanna think about it right now... I'm sorry..."_

 _"Don't apologize. There's no need. But you stay here tonight. Got that?"_

 _Cloud nodded. He could follow orders, yes, following orders was something he was used to, something that was easy, so this was good, he wouldn't have to think about anything... not even them..._

 _"Get out of those jeans," Ames said, getting off the bed and heading toward the bathroom. "I'll be right back out, and we'll get some sleep, okay? Don't even think about tomorrow; let me worry about it."_

Get out of the jeans. Don't think about tomorrow. Easy. I can do that. I can follow orders.

 _Cloud did get out of his jeans, so he was wearing nothing besides his dark gray sleeping shirt and his black boxers, and with that he got back into the bed, went to the far side. He listened; it was quiet at this time of the night, and he heard the toilet flush and the click of the bathroom light switch as Ames turned it off. He stared at the wall, tracing a small crack in it with his eyes._

Don't think. Follow orders. Do something that doesn't require me to think. I can do that. I'll just do this until tomorrow morning, if I have to, until I fall asleep, and maybe... maybe...

 _The bed shifted, the sheets moved, and he heard Ames settle down in the bed, closeby. For a long time, they were both silent, and he almost thought Ames was asleep when he heard his voice._

 _"You know... I don't think I've ever gotten over Keith..."_

 _"I'm sorry..." Cloud whispered, heartfelt. "He was... nice."_

 _"Yeah. He was very nice. Very dear to me. Did you know? We went out for two years."_

 _Cloud closed his eyes, curling up tighter. "No... No, I didn't know..."_

 _"Yeah. You were kinda oblivious. To a lot of things, weren't you? Even now... Yeah, you probably don't know much at all about things. Love. Hate... I loved Keith."_

 _He was running out of things to say, running out of something to do. Why was Ames talking to him about this? Why weren't they sleeping?_

 _He heard something on the other side of the bed move, but he kept his eyes closed._

 _"Of course, like I said, you probably don't know much about love, do you? No, of course not... Not even with Donovan around... That's too bad, Cloud. Because, you see... I felt this when I first saw you... something that I'd only felt around Keith. Maybe you remind me of him somehow, I don't know."_

 _A hand placed itself on his shoulder, slowly turned him around onto his back, and he saw that Ames was looking at him, watching him, his blue eyes so dark, so full of... something. Cloud wasn't sure what it was, what it could possibly be._

 _"Cloud... Do you trust me?"_

 _The sudden question made Cloud stop, made him freeze up in a moment of wild uncertainty. He would have to think to reply, and he didn't want to think about anything, because if he did his mind would go back to Zack and Sephiroth and then if he thought about that... Shaking himself, Cloud simply thought of the most logical answer: Ames had warned him about Gunther. Ames had warned him about Zack's affair. Ames had taken the time to talk to him. Ames knew him more than anyone else. Ames..._

 _Cloud nodded, slowly. "Yes... I trust... I trust you..."_

 _"Good..." Ames smiled, and let his shoulder go. "That's good, Cloud. I'm glad you trust me. You trust me and no one else, all right? And I'll love you. I'll love you even when no one else does."_

 _There was something about those words that worried him, but Cloud didn't think about it. He turned back over again, staring at the wall, and had started to become very drowsy when he felt Ames's hand again. Then it became more than just Ames's hand, but both of Ames's arms, wrapping around him, dragging him up against Ames's body._

 _Cloud's eyes widened. He felt restrained, and that scared him. He felt awkward, and the way Ames had pulled him there, holding him easily, that scared him, too. And then those hands, careful, but running up and down his body... That really scared him._

 _His breath caught in his throat, and for a second Cloud was afraid to breathe, afraid to move, and too afraid to think. Then Ames was smiling, smiling down at him, and it took Cloud a moment to realize that Ames had turned him over again, and now the other recruit was lying on top of him._

 _"Shhh," Ames hushed him, still smiling, softer now, and petting his hair. "Don't think of anything else. But I'm going to teach you a little, now, about something that no one else will teach you... So, shhh... Don't think of anything, and calm down." By then Ames had leaned down so close that their mouths weren't even an inch apart, and he closed the gap easily. Cloud's first impulse was to struggle, but Ames had taken both of his wrists in his hands, pinned down beside his head. Eventually, though, as Ames withdrew and began planting more kisses, down his jaw and then his throat, he found himself beginning to relax. He didn't understand why, except perhaps Ames's litany of comforts and compliments. "Gods, you're so beautiful, you're mine, you're mine now... and I'll keep you that way, and I'll make you want to stay... mine, mine... I'll show you how much I love you, how much I want you... You're so beautiful..."_

Cloud's eyes snapped wide open and he sat up, staring in blatant fear, his heart beating too rapidly against his chest. He found himself in an unfamiliar place, in the dark, and for the longest time he could do nothing but sit and try to ease his own panic, too afraid to do much else. He sat there, and eventually he remembered that he had been put in a cell.

 _"You want the perfect Soldier, don't you? I'll be your perfect Soldier. I'll be everything you desire. Just close your eyes and feel... come on, Cloud, it's a game... Call me Sephiroth, go on, do it. You'll like it."_

"Get out of my head...!" Cloud whispered, clamping his hands over his ears. He wished he could beat that memory out of his skull, but Ames's voice continued unrelentingly.

 _"There, that's it, see? This isn't so hard. I'm Sephiroth, now... I'm here, just as you've always wanted me... and I've always wanted you... just like this... right here, for me and only me... come on..."_

"No..." he sobbed, and in desperation he grabbed his arm and dug his nails into his own flesh, until it hurt, until the physical pain overran the miserable memories, driving them away. He watched as the blood flowed down his arm, and there was something comforting in knowing it was real. That pain was real, not an illusion, not fake like the world Ames wanted him to believe in.

His biggest relief was that he had stopped Ames. He had stopped him before Ames could go any further, before Ames's game could become more than the kissing and the... the... everything else Ames had wanted to do to him. He wasn't even sure.

 _That's right. I stopped Ames. I don't have to worry about him anymore._ Cloud stopped, shuddered briefly, and then looked around for something to stop the blood flow on his arm. It then occurred to him that he would have to explain this to someone, sooner or later, whenever they came to question him again.

 _Then again... I don't think that was love, no matter what Ames chose to call it..._

Cloud simply clamped a hand over his self-inflicted wounds, knowing that the bleeding would have to stop sooner or later.

 _That's why I stopped him, and that's why he got a little angry at me... and scared me again... Then he said it was okay, that he could wait. But I don't think he would have. No matter how much he talked to me, no matter how much he tricked me into believing him at the time..._

 _Ames never loved me._

Cloud's face hardened as he lay back down on his cot, thinking.

 _Ames was the one that lied to me. Ames was the one that tricked me. Zack... Sephiroth... They're the ones who are helping me now... They're the ones that matter... They're the ones who love me._

There was something comforting in that, and Cloud smiled, a small, content smile. It was as if he had realized that for the first time.

"And Ames... never... Never again. I won't let anyone take advantage of me like that. I won't let them, not Ames, not anyone... I am me. I won't let them use me, make me into something else. And anyone who does is going to pay for it."

Satisfied, Cloud closed his eyes, found himself heartened by this new conviction. He wouldn't allow himself to be afraid anymore. He wouldn't let someone like Gunther or Ames or anyone else try to hurt him again. He would stand up for himself, just like Zack had taught him. Zack and Sephiroth... Those two men had been his anchors.

Comforted by these thoughts, he finally allowed himself to sleep peacefully, and dream without worrying about the next day.


	7. Approaching Ground Zero

Midgar always seemed the same, whenever Ames was around. It was also dark, gray, forboding somehow. It was always reaching out to grab you, snatch a little bit of you away at a time, so that it slowly drove you mad. Or, on a particularly cruel day, the city would snatch the most precious thing away from you, and leave its memory to rot in your soul. Midgar wasn't just a city, it was a virus, a cancer, and Ames knew that the very root of that deadly disease stemmed from this very lab he stood in.

He remembered very little of his early years; he imagined all of his "medicine" probably had something to do with it, but he had no way of being certain. The only person who had any idea would be his surrogate "father," and thus, he knew there was no point in trying to ask. The man would simply ignore him. Still... He was the only "family" he had left.

 _How utterly depressing._

Ames watched with an unattached interest as Hojo drifted about the lab, measuring chemicals in precise measurements, filling up a vial with what was certainly the devil's own concoction.

"I'm going to have to go back to the campus sooner or later, prof," the recruit muttered, and Hojo regarded him with cold, dark eyes before returning to his chemicals.

"Good." With a smirk, the professor put a stopper on the vial and began shaking the mixture. "After all, it'll be best if we completely cut ties after this meeting."

Cobalt blue eyes snapped toward Hojo's own gaze in surprise. "What... What do you mean by that?"

"It's rather simple, really..." Hojo inserted the vial into an injector, his smirk broadening. "I'm glad you enjoy your job, Ames, but you've made one too many mistakes during your time at the SOLDIER campus." Gesturing absently, the old man turned toward Ames, his voice losing its false warmth and quickly becoming more and more dangerous. "I gave you the opportunity to lead a semi-normal life, my precious specimen, which is more than I can say for several of my other experimental subjects. However, I did give you one condition. You were to carry out my orders flawlessly. But your interaction with that genetical anomaly--" Hojo sneered, flinging out a hand and crashing various flasks to the floor, where they shattered into a thousand pieces. "You were to follow orders to the letter! And you have flagrantly disobeyed me!"

"I did everything you ever--" Ames started angrily, but Hojo fixed him with a glare that caused Ames to freeze up.

"You are a failure, specimen," Hojo muttered. "A failure. A failure, you couldn't even force those damned emotions of yours out of the way for the mere second it would have taken... It was right there in your grasp and instead of doing as you should have done, you ruin it all by taking revenge and calling unnecessary attention to the plan! I don't need the Turks breathing down my neck, I need those blasted reports and I need that--that--that child that is threatening my project! And your little vendetta has caused a greater risk than even the boy!"

Ames said nothing, glaring at the older man, hands fisting at his sides and arms trembling. "I... am not... a failure..." he growled.

The professor laughed harshly. "Not a failure?! My dear boy, whatever made you even think you could be anything compared to the Great Sephiroth? He is far more than you, Jennison, and I knew that when I saved you from certain death on the streets. How long ago was that? How long has it been since you were nothing more than a sickening, putrid little wretch of an infant, a pathetic entity crying--" Hojo cut himself short, and held up the hand with the injector. "This mixture of lifeless chemicals is worth more than you, boy. It's far too good for you. But..." The smirk returned, if only for a second. "I'm going to send you back to SOLDIER with the autopsy report, and this--" without warning he snatched one of Ames's arms and jabbed the needle of the gun into the boy's arm, ignoring the sudden scream as he calmly continued "--is going to be my last gift to you. This will give you precisely three more days of humanity, and after that the pure Jenova cells in your body will react, transforming you into the monster that you really are." He shoved the suddenly weak recruit away from him, once more ignoring Ames's gasp as the boy hit the nearest work counter. "During that time, you had better find some way to bring that boy here, like you were supposed to do, and you had better do it right this time. If you're a good little specimen, then I might allow you to retain your humanity for a little bit longer. Is that understood, Ames?"

The recruit shuddered away from Hojo's voice, his reach, and nodded weakly. "Yes... professor..."

"Good. Then I suggest you get going. And you better make sure you're more careful with your contacts; can't let anyone see that Mako glow, eh?"

"Yes... yes, professor."

"Good boy." Hojo patted the shivering young body on the head before exiting the lab.

Left alone in the darkness of the lab, smelling only the chemicals and feeling the burning of the medicine in his veins, Ames shut his eyes and cut back the groan in his throat, replacing it with a curse.

***

Cloud was awakened by a soft voice whispering in his ear. He mumbled something incoherently, not even sure himself what he was saying, and tried to curl up deeper in the warmth of his spare blanket. He thought he heard someone chuckle, laugh, and/or say something, and was brought wide awake when he felt a soft kiss on his cheek.

"W-w-what?!" he yelped, sitting straight up, only to find himself staring into the amused eyes of the Great Sephiroth. Behind Sephiroth, holding his sides and trying desperately to smother his laughter, was Zack.

"If you hadn't turned your head right then, I would have had your mouth," Sephiroth said, feigning an expression that looked suspiciously like a pout.

Cloud immediately wondered what would happen if he pretended to faint, if maybe if he didn't turn his head at all, maybe Sephiroth might be tempted to try to wake him up again and--

Cheeks burning a bright red, Cloud looked at the two older men and couldn't find any words to say; all he managed was a meek whimper, which set Zack to laughing again. Sephiroth just stood straight, smiling down at Cloud softly and resting a hand on his blond hair. Cloud blinked, found something familiar in that gesture, and let out a yawn. Rubbing his eyes, Cloud looked up once the hand went away, and realized why the other two had come.

Sitting on the cell's small metal desk was his laptop, some of his notebooks, and several of his textbooks, along with a few print-outs of what looked like battle maps from the Wutai War.

"Homework," Zack said, grinning like a lunatic. "So, how are you, Cloud? Feeling better, now?"

The blond nodded. "Actually... I do. I figured it out, Zack."

"Figured what out?"

"Ames... Ames claimed a lot of things... that I don't think were true." Cloud smiled, shyly turning his face down. "I... I think I figured it out, Zack... that I love you... and that I love Sephiroth... That's why, finding out about you, that's why it hurt so much... but now that I really know..."

He looked back up to see Zack and Sephiroth exchanging grins and... something else, though exactly what it was he couldn't tell because it was something very subtle, something hidden in the depths of their eyes. Still, the two older men moved to sit beside him, one on each side, and Cloud found himself enveloped in a large embrace, and a soft kiss planted on each cheek.

"Thank you, Cloud," Zack whispered in his ear. "We're gonna get you outta here, and once we do, we're gonna treat you to the best night of your life... just you wait... and then... then you'll see that Ames and Gunther and all of those other fools who tried to hurt you... you'll see how wrong they were, right?"

"Now, we can't stay here that long," Sephiroth said, also keeping his voice low and quiet. He looked down at the small watch on the wrist of his glove. "Only twenty more minutes. So let's enjoy this time, all right?"

***

Reno glared at the monitor in front of him, the grip on his nightstick so tight that it could have snapped the metal bar in half. Blank. Again.

"Always fuckin' blank or static," Reno growled, resisting the urge to kick something. "Hey!" he shouted over his shoulder, at the waiting recruit who was supposed to be helping him. "I thought you brought me the tapes you used on the night and morning of the murder! What's up with all of these damn blanks?!"

"Uh, sir, we always have the tapes labelled and catalogued and placed right where they're supposed to be," the recruit said, quickly. "I brought you the right tapes, sir."

"Then why isn't there anything on them? By Holy, this is the SOLDIER Academy! Your security should be much better than this!"

"Beggin' your pardon, sir, but usually it is."

"Then who was in charge of security that night? 'Cause they royally screwed up, and once the Commander hears about this he's gonna have kittens..."

The recruit shook his head. "I'm not sure, sir. I've only worked on the day shifts, sir."

"Damn. Well, do me a favor, kid, and find out. As soon as you know, report back to me."

"Where are you going, sir?"

Reno scowled as he headed out the door. "To my boss, of course. He ain't gonna be too happy about this..."

As the Turk went down the near-empty hallways, he found himself growing more and more upset by the whole investigation. First of all, none of Gunther's Gang had changed their testimony, and they still hadn't gained any substantial evidence to say it was or wasn't Cloud Strife. Besides that, a report had yet to be delivered from Midgar about the status of Gunther's corpse. And now the serveillance tapes from that evening/morning had been completely wiped... and they had no idea who had committed that crime, either!

"It's a god-damn fuckin' conspiracy, that's what it is," Reno muttered, soon finding himself outside of the Commander's office. "Welp, sorry, Seph, but the boss said he'd be here and all, so...!"

Reno knocked on the front door, waiting impatiently for some reply on the other side. When the door did slide open, he saw both the Commander and Tseng staring at him. Both were their typical expressionless selves, but Reno had the feeling that Tseng was upset by something... and he had the harrowing thought that Sephiroth might be a little upset, as well.

 _Oh. This is not my lucky day._ Reno cleared his throat and came in, wearing his normal jaunty smile. "Yo, boss. Just got back from the security office."

Tseng raised a single eyebrow. "And...?"

Reno held up his hands as if to show that he had absolutely nothing on him. "Zippo. Zulch. Null. Nada. In short, boss, I ain't got nothin' but a heavy yearnin' for some booze right about now all 'cause some freaky recruit or Soldier wiped the tapes."

Tseng turned his head to stare back at Sephiroth, who calmly sat down behind his desk and took a deep breath. What came out of the Commander's mouth was not what Reno expected, and he absently wondered how on the Planet could anyone be so calm at the moment.

"This might explain those information leaks you were just commenting on, Tseng."

"So, there is a spy in your midst?"

"Most likely. However, I doubt it's a spy for Wutai, or any other organization. It's not that easy to smuggle in Soldiers or such, not straight into the academy. Someone would notice the peculiarities in behavior associated with spying and espionage tactics..." Sephiroth leaned back in his seat. "Meaning that this probably stems from an inter-departmental problem."

"But why would any of the other departments do anything against SOLDIER?" Tseng asked. "That doesn't make any sense."

The silver-haired Commander shook his head. "You should know better than anyone else, Tseng. They're constantly fighting for favor beneath the President... and they're perfectly willing to do anything they can to stain the reputation of another... anything... to gain more power..."

Tseng nodded, though reluctantly. "I guess you do have a point, there. In that case, I suggest we expose this leak as soon as possible." He looked up. "Reno. You've questioned everyone but Strife today, correct?"

Reno saluted him. "Yes, boss. Want me to try again?"

"Yes. You can take the rest of the day off afterward. Let me deal with the security breach."

"Yes, sir." Reno pivoted to head out, but Sephiroth's quiet voice stopped him.

"Turk. What do you think... about Strife?"

Reno turned back around, not too surprised to see Sephiroth busying himself with writing--some sort of report, no doubt; the man almost always had to be working on something. The Turk paused, glancing up at Tseng, who was simply watching the whole exchange calmly.

 _Damn it, boss. You're supposed to keep me outta trouble...!_ Reno shrugged. "He could've done it. I'm still not sure."

"That's not what I asked." Sephiroth didn't even glance up at him. "I asked you what you think of him..."

"Well... The kid's got some problems, if you know what I mean." Reno shook his head. "I'm not entirely too sure what to make of him, sir. I'm just a little surprised he's made it so far in the SOLDIER program. Anything else, sir?"

"No."

Taking that as permission to leave, Reno tried to appear as unhurried as possible on his way out. As soon as the door slid shut behind him, Tseng looked back down at Sephiroth.

"I haven't let Reno look over that boy's file yet, Sephiroth. But I'm going to have to if Reno's going to fully question Strife, and perhaps even find out who started this whole mess."

"Hnh."

"He would have made it into SOLDIER by now, wouldn't he? If not for the psychological factor?"

At this, Sephiroth put down his pen and looked up at Tseng under lidded eyes. Dangerous eyes. "Exactly what do you mean by that?"

"Depression, paranoia, self-destructive tendancies... the list goes on. Do you want me to name all of the other warnings on the file, or should I stop there?" Sephiroth's expression never changed, but Tseng only nodded. "You know as well as I do, Sephiroth. If Strife's mental stability doesn't improve, then he'll never make it into SOLDIER, no matter how well his grades are." Tseng smirked. "Hell, he could be the only graduate from the academy who never made it into SOLDIER."

"The boy has potential. And the boy has improved. Besides that, Strife has been training alongside Zackary Donovan, one of our most successful Soldiers. If anyone can turn Strife's psychological problems around, it would be Donovan. In short, I don't care what some psychological report says about Strife's mental capacities. He's good enough to become a Soldier, even if it is not necessarily natural for him."

"Convince the science department about that, and see what they say." Tseng shrugged and started for the door. "In any case, I don't plan on doing anything to your precious Strife, Commander. He's your responsibility, after all. I just wanted to warn you that, with a psychological assessment such as that, he has more stacked against him right now than the whole Wutanese army."

Tseng left, and Sephiroth took another deep breath, closing his eyes. He remembered what it had felt like, to hold Cloud in his arms even for a brief moment, and to simply relax and feel... Zack had been completely right about Cloud... Zack had been right...

***

Cloud was busy reading some text for his assignments when he heard a knock at the door, and then it swung open. He didn't look up, thinking that it might be Zack again, but was surprised when he didn't hear Zack's usual, boisterous greeting. All he heard was:

"Okay, kiddo. You're gonna hafta take a break from your assignment... Got that?"

He looked up to see Reno standing there, all seriousness in his suit. Instantly closing his textbook, Cloud obediantly stood and nodded.

"Yes, sir."

"All right. Just sit down over there, on your bunk. You're the last one for today, so..."

Cloud did as he was told, and watched as Reno went to stand beside his desk, looking at it curiously. Fingering some of the pages scrawled with notes, the Turk looked up at Cloud with some amusement.

"You weren't kidding when you said you were a serious study, were ya?"

"Err, no, I wasn't..."

"Good. Now... Listen, someone here isn't telling us the truth, and we've got to figure it out before this case gets any worse than it already is. Judging from what I've heard about your past 'history' with this group, you should know a bit about them. Do you know who Gunther's right-hand man is?"

Cloud thought for a few seconds. "I... always thought... it was Goyles, sir... but I'm not sure..."

"Do they often hang around at night?"

"I believe so, sir..."

"Didn't I tell you to stop calling me 'sir'? Come on, now. Do they or don't they?"

"They do."

"Often?"

"I... I guess so."

"What about you? Are you often up late?"

The boy had started to chew on his lower lip, which Reno realized looked a little bruised and sore. Apparently, the kid did it whenever he was worried, and apparently that had been a lot recently. Reno didn't really blame him.

"It... it depends. I stay up late to study, but I also... also stay up other times. Zack has taken me to Midgar, before, past curfew, but..." Cloud floundered.

"Why else do you stay up so late? Besides Zack, of course." He had gotten the bad feeling that Strife was hiding something from him, and frowned as he pressed on. "I imagine you certainly do it often. So, what is it? What?"

Swallowing nervously, Cloud started to clasp his hands in his lap, then stopped, then started to gesture with them but couldn't seem to think of what to say. Finally, he stopped, and admitted sheepishly, "The Commander likes to practice late at night... and... and he often comes in from missions late at night..."

 _Aha. Hero worship. Okay._

"So, the night the murder took place... Were you up late that night?"

"...yes. I was... sick."

 _Great... just great... I can tell this is going to take some time. The kid simply doesn't trust me. What I need are those damned security tapes..._ Nearly cursing, Reno took a deep breath and continued. "Okay, Cloud Strife..."

***

Ever since the murder had taken place and the correct word had been spread that Gunther had somehow drowned, the campus pool had remained mostly empty, even when Tseng and Sephiroth reluctantly lifted the restriction on the courtyard area, to allow for faster travel across the large campus. No one came by to use it; every now and then, a wandering guard would come by and look at it, staring at it suspiciously, and then would leave.

Zack was just grateful that he had Sephiroth's permission to wander, especially since nearly the whole campus was locked up. He was often sent to direct the herds as they were led to their various group activities; one group at the cafeteria at a time, all of them being monitored under strict supervision. Other times he simply thought about the whole thing, while clammed up in his quarters, thinking and worrying about Cloud. He often shared his worries with Sephiroth, who would often only give him something close to a reassuring--if similarly worried--glance. The fact that the whole situation was causing Sephiroth himself to be nervous frightened the hell out of Zack, but he also knew he didn't have anything to truly worry about. Not yet, anyway.

But thinking about Cloud so often, shut up in that damned cell, with only the occasional meal and questioning by Reno... Yes, it worried him. It worried him a lot. Zack was currently standing outside, beside the pool, thinking about their multiple problems, when he thought he heard one of the courtyard gates open. There came a few voices, some Soldiers approaching, discussing something nonchalantly.

"...yeah, you know what they're saying."

"They really think Strife did it? But he's... he's so small, and non-confrontational. He'd run away before ever thinking about murder."

"Well, maybe we don't know him as well as everyone thought they did. I mean, the kid's always acted a little messed up..."

"...could be. Hey, do you have any idea what's going on with the prisoners? I haven't heard anything about them..."

The voices faded, and Zack absently scuffed his boot on the line between brick and grass, staring down at his feet as he thought.

 _Cloud... they all think that Cloud did it... that no one knew him well enough to say that he definitely would not, could not do such a thing. Ugh..._

But all of them did have one thing right: none of them knew Cloud. And none of them had seen the boy when he was so self-destructively mad, so upset with himself and the world around him that he wanted to destroy--

Don't think about it, Zack thought, and immediately turned to see Sephiroth standing at the pool's gate, watching him silently.

"Oh, hi, boss!" Zack said, cracking his usual grin. "How's it going?"

"Poorly. They've still made no real progress. Tseng is particularly upset; he feels like he's chasing himself in circles. Reno is trying, but he hasn't received permission to perform a real interrogation on any of the suspects..." Sephiroth shook his head. "In any case, I'm trying to see if I can't talk the Turks into letting Cloud out of the prison for the night."

Zack's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Whoa, really? Why? And why do you think they'd actually let you...? Aside from the fact that you are The General, of course."

Sephiroth shrugged. "It has been noted that, in more relaxed and familiar settings, people who are usually introverted have a tendancy to shift personalities... In other words, Cloud is more likely to tell us something we need to know if he's more relaxed. At least, that's what I'll tell the Turks. The real reason is... well..." Smirking slightly, the older man turned and began to walk away. "Of course, you'd be invited."

"Whoa, wait up!" Zack caught up to his friend, walking briskly beside him as they headed back up to his office.

"It doesn't mean that they'll actually accept my theory, and it also means that, if they do accept, they'll probably attempt to bug whatever rooms we're using. So, any intimacies would have to be kept at something of a minimum."

"Well... yeah, you're right, of course. But at least it would get him out of that place for a bit, and that's what he needs. I know the kid's got to be getting more and more nervous. And why the hell haven't we received any sort of autopsy report from Midgar, yet? It should be here by now!"

"I've wondered that, as well... Either something came up and Hojo himself is preoccupied, or he's being more sloppy than usual."

***

Ames held out a folder to Tseng, who took the folder and quickly peered at the front page of the report.

"Excellent. It is the complete autopsy..." Tseng shut the folder and gave Ames a curt nod. "When did you arrive?"

"Only moments ago, via helicopter, sir," Ames said quickly. "That report is the only thing that got me past the security."

"Good. In that case, you are to go immediately to your dorm and wait for further instructions. I believe the other Turk here, Reno, has been meaning to question you, so you shall have to wait until he is available before you are allowed to leave. The shift system can be explained to you by the Soldier who will escort you back to your dorm. You are not to leave your room unless accompanied by an escort; is that understood?"

Ames nodded, his voice oddly blank, even for military personnel. "Yes, sir, of course."

"Fine. Then you may go."

Of course, almost as quickly as Ames left the room, there came another brief knock at the door before it slid open, admitting Sephiroth and Reno into the room. Reno appeared put out by something, but Sephiroth was, of course, his normal self. Tseng waited for one or the other to say something, and after a long stare at Sephiroth Reno stepped forward.

"Still haven't really gotten anywhere with Strife, sir. But, the Commander here has a suggestion."

Tseng raised an eyebrow. "Yes...?"

"Donovan is a close friend with the boy," Sephiroth said. "And he and I both believe that his surroundings might be part of the reason he hasn't told anyone--not even Donovan himself--everything that he can remember from that night."

Tseng's voice was flat. "You want us to let him out."

"Yes."

The red-headed Turk shook his head. "I don't know about this, boss. I mean, it's not that I don't trust the Commander, but what with everything else that's been going on..."

"But Sephiroth has a point, Reno," Tseng said. "Witnesses react more positively to questioning if they are in more comfortable conditions and are being 'guided' by more familiar figures... and what recruit could say no to the Commander of SOLDIER himself...?"

"Alright, alright," Reno sighed, "that's true. But Strife's our best bet, and we can't afford anything to happen to him that might threaten the investigation, y'know?"

Sephiroth smirked. "It's not as if Donovan and I plan on snatching him away, Reno." He looked to Tseng. "Just give Donovan and I one night. You can even bug my quarters for the evening, if you wish."

Tseng nodded, and looked to Reno. "Contact Donovan and tell him we'll be giving Strife a twelve-hour leave effective at 2000 hours. Strife is to remain in the presence of Donovan and/or the Commander at all times." He then shifted his gaze to Sephiroth. "And I would like to accompany you to your quarters so I can bug the area, if that would be acceptable."

"I offered, after all. I don't see why not."

"Good. Reno, officially, you and I will be going over the autopsy report that came in, and you can begin questioning that other recruit sometime tomorrow."

"Sure thing, boss. I'm on my way!"

As soon as Reno left, Sephiroth said, "You really do plan on listening in on us, then?"

"Of course." Tseng chuckled. "Look, Sephiroth, Reno and I both know about the three of you. We just want to make sure you do as you say you will..."

"We'll do our hardest not to get distracted," Sephiroth said, "but I can make no promises. And we can only hope we'll figure something out. As I'm sure Reno has discovered, Strife can be close-mouthed about many things... especially things that have hurt him. And he was hurt that night."

Tseng's brow furrowed. "Is there something the three of you haven't told us?"

"Nothing important to the investigation. But it might have something to do with Strife's reluctance to speak of that evening. We'll see what we can get out. Meanwhile... you mentioned the autopsy report. I take it Ames Jennison is back, then?"

"Yes. He's been escorted back to his dorm room by now."

"Good. Make sure he doesn't leave until Reno's ready to give him a thorough questioning. And I think you might want to consider having Donovan there during the questioning."

"You believe Jennison is a suspicious character?"

"...We'll see. Let's just leave it at that." Sephiroth turned on his heels. "Now, if we're going to have my quarters bugged before Strife and Donovan arrive, then we better get a move on."

"Of course."

"And I trust that all recordings will be destroyed after this mess is cleared up...?"

"Of course."

Sephiroth looked over his shoulder back at Tseng, eyes narrowed. "Very well."


	8. Overboard

Lying on his back and staring up at the ceiling, Cloud wondered about everything that had been going on, everything since the very beginning of his time at the academy. There were so many things that seemed out of place, so many things that did not match. And, to be honest, he was very afraid of what could happen. He knew the evidence was slowly stacking up against him, simply because there had been found no definite proof. And if no evidence was to be found, then there would only be the most likely option...

But Zack and Sephiroth would protect him, wouldn't they? He knew they would, but how long could the two delay the inevitable? Unless they found someone... or something... that might be able to prove his innocence, or someone else's guilt.

There was a short knock on the cell door, and Cloud looked up, surprised to see two familiar faces standing at the doorway. Not only was it Reno, but Zack was there, as well.

"Listen, kiddo," Reno said. "Your friends managed to get you something of a twelve-hour leave. You have to be back in this cell by 0800 hours tomorrow morning, got that?"

"Yes, sir!" Cloud said, quickly hopping up and saluting him.

Reno glanced at Cloud, form and face so full of eagerness, and then turned his gaze to the Soldier. "You remember what Tseng said, and do what you can. We'll be going over that report that came in..."

"Yeah, good luck, Reno," Zack said, clapping the Turk on the shoulder before the red-headed man left. As soon as Reno was gone, he turned back to Cloud and grinned widely. "Hey, Cloud! How ya doing, buddy?"

"Zack, thank you!" Cloud said, running to Zack's side and giving the older man a hug before he could say or do anything else. "I hate it in here, it's too cramped and small and--"

"Whoa, whoa," Zack said, although he chuckled as Cloud leaned his head back to look at him. "Heh, first of all, you should really thank Seph. He's the one that managed to convince the Turks into letting you out at all. And, unfortunately..." Zack shook his head, sobering. "Cloud, we need you to tell Seph and me the honest truth. We're not going to hide that; we need something, or else something bad might happen to you. And we don't want that."

Cloud nodded. "All right... But... I do get to see Sephiroth, don't I?"

"Heh, yeah. Of course. C'mon, kiddo. We're supposed to stop by the dorm, and then head up to Seph's quarters."

"Yessir!"

***

Inside a darkened dorm room, two desperate hands were at work. Twisting screw after screw, the recruit worked at removing the vent to the ventilation shaft. Outside, at least two Soldiers were standing guard; he knew it, he could hear them every now and then as they talked. That blasted red-headed Turk had put them there, he knew it, and he knew that he would be questioned come morning.

Or rather, he would be questioned, if he was still around by that time.

Resting on his back on the normally empty top bunk of his room, Ames managed to remove another screw and set to work on the next. There were five more, and then he would be out of here. Gone. For good. There would be no turning back, no returning, no hero's welcome. Not where he was going.

 _I'll show you... all of you... I'm not your pathetic shadow... I'm more, I'll make myself into something more...!_

All of this time, Sephiroth had that superior air... So goddamned superior, so goddamned perfect that he could have whatever he wanted that he didn't even deserve... And right now, he had the only thing Ames wanted, right in his own two hands and just the thought made Ames's blood boil; gritting his teeth, he ignored the pain in his hand as he impatiently reached up, grabbed the vent, and yanked it straight out of the ceiling. Ignoring the dust and clumps of plaster that fell, Ames only paused to make sure that the Soldiers outside the door hadn't heard. Then, noiselessly, he pulled himself up into the ventillation shaft.

 _A bit cliche, but I'm not getting graded on originality,_ Ames thought as he quickly mapped out the academy in his mind, and crawled in the direction of the security center. _I don't have too long to bug the system and the cameras again..._

Somewhere in his mind, his rational side told him that this was all too dangerous, and if he was caught out of his room or, even worse, red-handed in the security center, then he was dead. But Ames shrugged it off.

 _It doesn't matter. I'm gonna die no matter what I do. I might as well go out showing them all what kind of a total bastard I really am..._

***

Later that night, Sephiroth stirred in bed and looked drowsily at the clock. He had the alarm set to go off one minute from now, signaling when they would have to escort Cloud back down to his cell, but he reached over and turned it off. There was no need to wake them all up because of this, no need to wake Cloud up at all. From what Zack had said, this was the easiest Cloud had slept for a long time, and if that was the case he'd rather not disturb the trooper. Still, orders were orders, and it would be best to get Cloud back with enough time for him to get a few more hours' sleep before the next day started...

Sitting up, he looked down beside him and smiled, running a hand through the now-familiar blond hair. Cloud was curled up beside him, curled and warm. Earlier in the evening he had been clutching Sephiroth's arm, but he had since relaxed. On Cloud's other side slept Zack, one arm thrown around Cloud's waist, his face buried in the back of Cloud's neck. It was one of the few times he hadn't seen Zack sprawled out and covering most of the bed's space.

Pulling back the blankets carefully, Sephiroth swung his legs over the side of the bed and reached for his leather pants, only to realize that he wasn't the only one awake.

"...goin'...?"

He turned, looked down and smiled slightly. "No. But it's about time for you to leave."

"Don' wanna go..."

"I know, and believe me... I wish you could stay. But after this is all over, perhaps... we'll see."

Standing up, the older man continued to get dressed. When he was finished, he returned to the bed to see Cloud sitting up, wiping sleep from his eyes tiredly. Zack had turned onto his back and had started to pull all of the blankets toward himself, and Sephiroth gathered Cloud's spare clothes from the floor where they had been carelessly dropped earlier. Cloud watched him tiredly the whole time, grasping the bundle of clothing clumsily when Sephiroth placed them in his lap. Putting one arm around Cloud's shoulders and hooking the other beneath Cloud's knees, the Commander easily lifted the recruit off the bed, and started to walk to the door.

The blond was silent as they went slowly through Sephiroth's living quarters and finally his offices, only speaking once they were outside.

"Why not Zack...?"

"He's been kept very busy... It would be best to let him rest, while he can."

"How much longer...?"

"I'm not sure. But I don't think it will be long. An important report came in, and once Reno has questioned Jennison, I'm sure something will come up. That, or I'll give him permission to begin interrogations. When that happens, someone will confess, and then it will all go back to normal."

"Normal," Cloud repeated, quietly. Finally, he shook his head, closing his eyes and leaning his head against the other man's chest. "No... never normal around here..."

"Heh. I guess not."

By the time they had reached the elevator, Cloud had fallen asleep again; or at least, that was how it seemed, with no murmurs or movement. Sephiroth carried Cloud all the way to the recruit's cell, not surprised to find Tseng waiting for him by the doors.

"I take it you're satisfied with what you heard?" he asked quietly.

"Mostly. Reno's going to interrogate Jennison tomorrow morning. I would have him do it tonight, but even Turks need sleep." Tseng glanced at Cloud. "So do young troopers, I guess."

"Indeed." He waited for Tseng to unlock the cell door, and as soon as the man had he stepped inside. He rested Cloud on the bunk, placing the clothes on top of the recruit's desk before making sure his young friend was covered adequately. Mentally wishing the boy a peaceful rest, Sephiroth gave him one last kiss on the forehead before leaving. Tseng shut the cell door quietly, checking its lock before starting down the hallway.

Sephiroth walked with Tseng all of the way back to the entrance to his office, where the leader of the Turks exchanged only a brief farewell before heading to the room where he and Reno were staying. Sephiroth stared after the man silently, before taking a deep breath and going back in to catch a few more hours of sleep.

Things were starting to fall into place, but... the warrior couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something very, very wrong.

***

Cloud was stirred in his cell when he heard the soft scrape of the door against the hard floor. He opened his eyes blearily to find himself looking at two familiar, Mako blue eyes, and his brow knit in confusion.

"Ames...? Dream, must... you're not... Soldier...?"

"No, not a Soldier. Now just hold still, Cloud, and this will take only a second..."

"Huh?" Cloud started to push himself up, when Ames suddenly snatched his arm and jabbed him with a needle. Cloud opened his mouth to scream but he never got the chance; the air around him shimmered and then there came the briefest, vaguest sensation of drowning and he found he couldn't scream. No matter how hard he tried, his vocal cords wouldn't work, and though he attempted to struggle, Ames made short work of binding his wrists and ankles. Before he even knew what was happening, he was nauseous and drowsy and tossed over Ames shoulder, everything going on around him being reduced to a blur before the blackness closed in and he didn't feel, didn't think, couldn't do anything.

***

Reno was walking toward the security center, nightstick in one hand, stifling a yawn with the other, when he noticed there was something wrong. Seeing the smear of blood across the wall from the security center's door, he increased his pace, slid his keycard through the electric pad, and cursed when it didn't open. Charging his nighstick, he stood back and blasted the door open, only to be welcomed by the stench of dead bodies. Running to the open entrance, he ignored the corpses and immediately checked the security stations. The cabinet of video recordings from the security cameras was burning but all the fire alarms, all of the other security had been turned off.

"Shiva, what son of a bitch...?!" He checked the current footage of the security cameras and watched as a familiar recruit dashed from hall to hall, screen to screen, carrying a limp Strife over one shoulder. "Dammit!" Slamming one hand on the alarms, he took off running down the halls, pulling out his PHS and getting Tseng on the other end. "Boss, it's Jennison! He's broken Strife out of his cell and is heading for the trans block! I'm gonna try to beat him there!"

"I'm contacting the Commander. You know what to do."

The line cut off and Reno shoved the PHS into a pocket, not caring which one it was. Ignoring the baffled and confused Soldiers standing guard, he shoved his way past two to see Ames barrelling down the hall towards him, practically throwing a Soldier over his shoulder with one hand. Reno readied his nightstick, but when Ames saw him he stopped, reaching for the nearest door. With little more than a grunt, the recruit pulled the door off its hinges and charged forward, throwing the door at Reno as he ran.

"The hell--!" He ducked to avoid the door, but that didn't save him from Ames's kick to the side. Stumbling backwards, Reno automatically struck out with his nightstick, but Ames was already down the hall, and nearly at the transportation block.

Growling under his breath, Reno clasped one hand to his side and started after the captor and his captive.

***

 _Can't catch me can't catch me can't let them catch me..._

The drug was buzzing in the system, in his ears, made everything else seem slow while he moved like lightning, striking where it was needed and running when he could. The adrenaline was high and for once he was thankful for the torture Hojo had put him through. He could hear more shouting behind him, heard footsteps pounding and the alarms wailing, but it didn't matter anymore. They wouldn't be able to catch him.

Grinning like a madman, he punched open yet another door, this one leading to one of the garages. He spotted the nearest Hardy Daytona with a sidecar and placed Cloud inside, but before he could start the bike up himself, that Turk showed up in the door, this time with a revolver in hand instead of the nightstick.

"Persistent, aren't you...?" Ames snarled, but Reno stepped in fearlessly.

"Put your hands up and just let me shoot you," Reno growled. "And if you throw one more door, pipe, table, whatever at me, I swear I'll--"

"What, kill me? Idle threat, Turk. I can't have you following me, so..."

"Don't move!" Reno warned, but Ames suddenly darted off to the side. Reno fired and cursed when a magical barrier was raised, and felt the fire spell being cast before actually seeing it. He ducked back out of the garage before the spell could hit him, but before he could rush back into the garage, a car slammed into the doorway, turned onto its side and providing an adequate barrier between the Turk and his quarry.

Inside the garage, Ames was panting, ignoring the pain in his bleeding hands and grinning at the car he had shoved up against the doorway.

"Like to see you get through that one, Turk," he muttered, going back to the Hardy Daytona. Inside the sidecar, Cloud mumbled and groaned, but Ames paid him little attention. They would have plenty of time together once they had made it out of the SOLDIER campus, and once he had found a suitable hiding place. Revving up the bike's engine, Ames smoothly turned the Daytona around and sped out of the garage and out of the reaches of SOLDIER.

***

A few moments later, Reno was spurning the efforts of a SOLDIER medic to deal with his wounds, while Sephiroth and Tseng regarded the clean-up of the security center. Several recruits had been pulled into helping with the clean-up efforts, though everything they did was being watched by their superiors so that nothing went by unnoticed.

"I'm sure you have all the evidence you need, now," Sephiroth said, voice oddly calm, "to pin down Jennison as the perpetrator."

Tseng regarded the Commander coldly. "That may be true, but there's still the matter of tracking him down and getting rid of him." He glanced with some irritation at Reno. "You should have done better than that--"

"Shit, be careful with that arm!" Reno hissed at the medic, before looking at Tseng with a sour grimace. "Trust me, boss, I would've gladly plugged him full of lead, if it weren't for the fact that he was castin' spells at me right and left and he had that recruit over his shoulder the whole time." He glared at Sephiroth. "Pardon me for being blunt, sir, but you Soldiers oughta keep the fuckin' materia out of your goddamned recruits' grabby little paws--"

"Donovan," Sephiroth interrupted, looking over his shoulder as his friend approached, "do you have the inventory taken from the materia cache?"

"Yessir. The materia count showed us that there were none taken from storage. And I had it checked and recounted three times, sir."

Sephiroth turned back to Reno as Zack joined them. "He had no materia with him, Turk. At least none of ours. Does that satisfy you?"

Tseng shook his head. "Don't be too angry with him, Commander. Reno might let his tongue get away with him sometimes--" he shot a glare at the Turk "--but he does his job."

"Unfortunately, that's a moot point. We still have no idea exactly where Jennison planned on heading, and that is something we should rectify as quickly as possible." Sephiroth paused, glancing at Zack before returning his gaze to the leader of the Turks. "I would like Donovan to accompany me on a mission to retrieve both Jennison and Strife. If we leave now, we will have an easier time tracking Jennison down."

"You're saying you volunteer for the duty of tracking down the target for his arrest?" Tseng said, and watched as Sephiroth and Zack both nodded without hesitance. "Good. In fact, I'd rather you do it, Commander. Turks may be trained to take out Soldiers, but Jennison is obviously something more than just a Soldier. If he's as strong as evidence shows, then we'll leave him to you. Besides that, it's time Reno and I make a few calls." Before Sephiroth and Zack could turn to depart, Tseng called after him. "Don't forget, Commander. Strife may be important to you, but Jennison is the target. This is not a rescue mission. Strife's life may be compromised if it insures Jennison's apprehension."

"I assure you that Donovan and I won't fail, Tseng."

Reno joined his boss as the Commander and his best friend headed for the transportation block. "Y'know, as much as I dislike that Jennison guy, I almost feel sorry for 'im. Zack and the Commander are gonna hand his ass back to him." He looked up to see Tseng considering something, brow furrowed. "What is it, boss? And who the hell are we supposed to be calling?"

"There are only two people who can manufacture a soldier that strong," Tseng muttered, crossing his arms, "and quite frankly, I don't want to deal with either of them. Especially since I have the suspicion it's the one I hate the most."

"...the good professor?"

"None other."

Reno let out a low whistle. "Boss, it sucks to be you."

***

Cloud opened his eyes when a damp cloth was placed at his forehead, slowly brought down and wiped his mouth. His hands grabbed the tree harder as he was taken by another fit, and vomited up whatever food was left in his stomach.

"Never knew you got motion sick that easily... should've given you more tranquilizer..."

He glanced up to see Jennison looking down at him, blue eyes burning so brightly with Mako that Cloud wondered why he--why no one--ever noticed it before. Ames gave him a small smile, before patting him on the back and wiping his face again with the cloth.

"You look like hell, Cloud... but not as bad as you did before. Now c'mon. We've got further to go." Ames took Cloud by the arm and started dragging him back to the Hardy Daytona, carelessly dropping the cloth on the grass. Cloud weakly attempted to dig in his heels and pull back, but Ames just tightened his grip and dragged Cloud along. "You'll see, Cloud... you'll see what your precious Commander is really like... you'll see, you'll see..."

"But... why...?" His voice hadn't come back yet, though when he had realized it was a silence spell he knew better than to fight it. Spells that strong would wear off faster if he let it run its course... he thought Zack had told him that, once.

Ames easily forced Cloud back into the sidecar, still grinning. "You think there's a reason behind all this?"

"...don't understand..."

"No. I don't think you ever will." The grin disappeared as Ames straddled the Hardy Daytona and revved it up. "No sense in you trying to understand a monster like me, anyway..." Before he could start driving, Ames coughed into his hand, and when they finally sped off, Cloud found himself staring at Ames's hand in confusion.

 _Blood... He's coughing blood? Is he sick?_

Wrapping his arms around his middle, Cloud closed his eyes and curled up as much as he could in the seat of the sidecar. He was feeling worse, and he didn't think it was because of the motion sickness.


	9. Into the Deep End

Frowning, Sephiroth double-checked the equipment he had put in the chocobo's saddlebag. He wanted to travel light, but knew better than charging after Ames unprepared. If Ames had managed everything so far by himself, with his own power, then they could take no chances, especially if they wanted to recover Cloud safely.

"Oi, Seph," Zack said, from beside him, feeding his own chosen chocobo some greens and petting the giant bird's crest, "are you sure we shouldn't use Hardy Daytonas, ourselves? They'd be faster than the birds."

"Possibly, but I don't want to take any chances." Sephiroth finally nodded, tightening the straps of the chocobo's saddle. "If Jennison leaves the Hardy Daytona and goes off-road, we'll be much faster on chocobo than we would be on foot."

Zack nodded, as well, giving his chocobo one final pat on the head before taking a firm hold on the saddle and mounting the bird. Sephiroth repeated the same maneuver with his own bird, and they trotted the chocobo over to the stable's gate. A Third Class standing guard there saluted them, wishing them "Godspeed" as he unlocked and opened the gate.

The chocobo trotted out of the stable quickly, as they circled the birds around the campus to the garage's exit. It was easy to find Ames's trail; he had been so quick to leave he obviously hadn't tried to hide his tracks, hide which direction he was going in. And so, they started toward the west, sticking to the road.

***

Slowing the Hardy Daytona, Ames kept an eye on the passing landscape and the horizon, knowing he and Cloud were running out of time. And road. He remembered quite clearly that this old road led to the train station between Midgar and Junon; it was often how the recruits were brought to the SOLDIER campus in the first place. When he saw the old, familiar bridge not too far ahead, however, he brought the Hardy Daytona to the side of the road and stopped it completely.

 _We've gone far enough..._

The area around them was mostly wilderness, far enough away from Midgar to be green, but close enough to be infested with wandering monsters. He actually thought he remembered hearing something about one of the earliest experimental reactors had been constructed in the mountains nearby here, but there had been some "accidents" that had led the Shinra to shut it down. Farther to the west, the road went over a bridge until it dead-ended at the train station, the only connection some of the people out here had to the rest of civilization. To the north there was nothing but green plains, until it hit the deadlands and cliffs surrounding Midgar, and to the south it was all wild patches of forests and clearings, split only by streams and rivers, right on up through the hills of the Midgar Mountains.

Ames left the bike, allowing it to idle while he went to the other side and reached into the sidecar. Cloud groaned as he was lifted out from the seat, and Ames quickly moved to the nearest stand of trees, leaning Cloud against the smooth bark of one of younger trees. He took the time to check the boy's pulse and temperature, before returning to the Hardy Daytona and walking it to the edge of the trees, where a small river cut sharply through the land. Once at the side, he gave the vehicle a good shove, and watched as it toppled over into the deeper waters of the river. It wasn't much of a hiding place, but it would work for now, and might even throw off their pursuers for a short time.

Turning away from the steeper slope of the riverside, he returned to his quiescent captive. He bent down and started to put his arms around the recruit to pick him up, but then Cloud started to stir and he paused, watching as the large blue eyes opened.

"Waking up at last, hmm?" Ames said, quietly. "How are you feeling?"

Cloud looked up at him briefly before his head dropped again, mumbling, "I want to go home."

"You do, hmm...?" Ames grunted, lifted Cloud in his arms and began walking toward the river. "Hate to tell you this, but you might not make it back."

"No..." Cloud shivered in his arms, cringed as Ames started carrying him down the bank of the river. The ground beneath Ames's feet was slippery and grassy, but Ames didn't seem to have a problem with handling the terrain. He walked straight to the river's edge, waded--not too deeply--into the river. Water splashed up against them, and Cloud shook his head, voice still weak. "No, gotta go back... can't stay..."

"Would that really be so bad?" Ames asked, still wading. "You know, you can always come with me, away from there, away from them... Just think... No more running away, no more bullies attempting to boss you around... No more selfish, careless instructors..."

"No more Zack," Cloud added hoarsely. "No more Sephiroth..." His eyes teared up, his voice choked up. "No... no, I can't live... not like that."

"Yes, you could," Ames said, darkly. "You did before."

"But... not happy..."

"You could still be happy," Ames said. "You could. I could make you happy."

Cloud said nothing, closed his eyes again. Ames said nothing, either, only continued to wade through the shallows.

Some time passed before he managed to find a place where they could cross the river, and as he forded across Ames's arms tightened around Cloud. The issue of time still weighed heavily on him; surely by now, the Commander and Donovan were after them. If he had gone straight to Midgar he might have made it back to Hojo with time to spare... but...

 _Damned bastards... It's always them... always people like them that get to control the world... They don't even deserve...!_

Biting back a curse, Ames set Cloud down once they reached the other side. Running his hands in the water, he splashed his face, looked down and saw the reflection of his face clearly; the blue glow from his eyes distorted the reflection, made it harder to see... but he could tell. Already, he was changing. He had enough tranquilizers on hand to keep Cloud from resisting--resisting successfully, anyway--but the "medicine" Hojo had given him would start to wear off, and if he didn't...

 _I don't want to go back._

If he didn't find some way to get more medicine, he'd be a dead man anyway.

 _After I reach the abandoned place... maybe then I'll call. I have what the professor wants, after all... if I can bargain for more medicine, maybe... maybe then I can just--_

In anger, he splashed his own reflection, before turning to see Cloud was watching him, apparently had been for awhile. Cloud's face held nothing but weariness, but Ames looked at his eyes, looked and searched for something, fear, hate, anything but apathy.

 _"Don't look at me like that! Don't look at me as if I'm nothing!"_

His jaw tightened, his mouth thinned. Finally, he asked, "Need to piss? Once we hit the road again, I'm not stopping until we reach a safe place."

Cloud shook his head, before saying, "I want water."

Ames nodded, grabbed his empty canteen and filled it before taking it back and holding it to Cloud's lips. When he took it away, satisfied he had given Cloud enough, he put the canteen away and moved to pick Cloud up.

"Thank you..." Cloud whispered, and Ames stopped, looking down to see Cloud looking down at his own lap.

"Heh. You might die in all of this, for all you know. Better not thank me."

"You won't let that happen, though..."

"You're such an optimist," Ames said, unable to stop himself from grinning wryly. "It's one of those things I like about you. Now..." He looped Cloud's arms over his shoulders, hooked his own arms around Cloud's legs and lifted the unresisting trooper onto his back. Shifting him carefully, Ames started up the slope slowly, before breaking out into a run when he reached the top.

***

Sephiroth had ordered them to a brief stop, and as Zack pulled his chocobo to a halt, he watched as Sephiroth dismounted and looked down at the trail. So far, they had stayed on the obvious road, but for the most part it seemed they had been following a straightforward trail. Zack also dismounted and followed the Commander, wondering what could be wrong, and watched as the older man carefully picked up a stained cloth from the grass. Zack blinked, came closer, and together the two looked at a nearby tree and what stood at its base.

"Well, we know this is definitely them. They must have stopped here for about ten minutes before heading on."

"Looks like Ames didn't know that Cloud got motion sickness easily... I don't like this, Seph," Zack said, glancing back at the road. "He hasn't even bothered to hide his trail or make it difficult for us to follow..." He whistled the chocobo over, and quickly mounted.

"It would seem that way. In any case, we shouldn't spend too much time here." Sephiroth mounted his own chocobo, and at once they were away. "There are quite a few places in this area he could use to hide. I won't be too surprised if we find his tracks leading off the main road in another few miles or so. I doubt he'd go as far as the train station."

"Maybe not even the bridge," Zack said thoughtfully. "But I just have one question. Why would he be so careless? I mean, it's almost as if he wants us to find him."

"He's either so certain that he's so far ahead of us that he can reach his destination before we can catch up, or he's just that confident he can take us... Or, perhaps, he just cannot think logically anymore." Sephiroth nudged his chocobo onward, and Zack hurried to keep alongside him. "That might be something to consider, as well. I doubt he'll be open to our reasoning, when we find him."

Zack nodded, before saying, "It's past noon already. I hope Cloud's holding up okay..."

***

Ames was panting under his breath. Cloud could hear his steady breaths, even as Ames continued running--gods, he had no idea where they were, or how much time had passed, but Ames was still running. Blinking wearily, Cloud raised his head from Ames's shoulder and looked up toward the sky. The sun was bright, and seemed to be descending quickly toward the horizon. Still, trying to look up at the sun as they moved so quickly through the trees... The jostling made his stomach tie itself into knots, and with a soft groan he closed his eyes and laid his head back down.

"You... okay...?" Ames got out between breaths. "Can't stop... yet...!"

"...take me home?" he said, knowing it came out sounding like begging, but he didn't care. He wanted to go back, he wanted to be someplace he knew, he wanted to be anywhere but there.

"Know I can't... do that..."

Cloud let it drop, kept his eyes closed, let his mind drift. It was the only way to pass the time, the only way to keep his mind off of what was going on, what might happen to him. So he closed his eyes and mind and let himself daydream, as much as possible.

 _"You know, Cloud, we never meant for you to get hurt..."_

 _"What happened, between you, Ames... We never want that to happen again."_

 _"So, we promise. We're going to make it stop."_

That night, with all of its soft touches and feelings and above all, its overwhelming kindness... He could learn, he thought, to live with that. He could learn to be happy, he could learn to trust again. He could learn to be patient. He could do anything it took, so long as the others still smiled at him, still looked at him, still touched him the way that they did that night. So long as he came out of this alive... so long as he came out of this in one piece... He would learn.

 _I promise..._

More time passed before he was roused again, and he noticed Ames was no longer running. Instead, he had slowed to a much more normal walk, and Cloud cracked open his eyes, surprised when he noticed that the sky above was filled with the colors of sunset to the west, dulled to greys and lavenders to the east. He blinked, wondering where they were, exactly how far they had gotten, when Ames crouched down to let him down off his back. He walked ahead a few steps, then turned around and looked back at Cloud.

"So, what do you think?"

Cloud rubbed at his eyes, smudging sleep away, before looking more clearly at their surroundings. Apparently, Ames had carried him deep into the foothills of the Midgar Mountains, and they had emerged out of the forest and into a clearing. On the other side of the clearing stood a building, perhaps three stories tall, delapidated and dark and very forbidding. Cloud did not like the looks of it at all.

He heard Ames laugh, and looked up just as the other turned back to the building, his laughing turning into a harsh cough. Ames shook his head, chuckled quietly before tucking his hands behind his head.

"This'll be perfect for now, don't you think? If it ever came down to it, I could rig it all up to collapse at the single casting of a spell." Ames reached into a pocket, drew out what looked like a rather large materia. Cloud looked at it in surprise, though Ames was staring at it, considering. "Or I could have it set to flood... Tell me, which one do you think sounds more fitting an end for the Great Sephiroth?" When Cloud said nothing, Ames looked down at him with a small grin. "Sorry, bad question, huh?"

Cloud felt his insides twist at the thought of Ames being able to--

"You can't," he blurted, trying to get to his feet, and failing mostly. "You can't, you can't defeat Sephiroth!"

"Really?" Ames said, tucking the materia away again and appearing amused by his attempts to get up. "And why not?"

"You... you might have been good enough to murder Gunther, but... but Sephiroth's the best there is!" Cloud managed to get to his feet, shook his head emphatically. "You couldn't, it'd be suicide!"

"Heh, we'll see about that," Ames muttered, grabbing Cloud by the arm and dragging him to his side. "Did they ever tell you how Gunther died, Cloud? Would you like to hear about how I could make your beloved Commander die?"

"No..." He tried to hold back, tried to brace his feet, but Ames went on relentlessly, a sneer in his voice.

"See, no one knew that I had some highly illegal materia straight from the science labs, no one even thought that it could be that useful, it only seemed capable of controlling maybe a gallon of water, maybe a little more depending on the user... Heh, Hojo gave it to me as a birthday present, told me to make good use of it, and you know what? I did. I discovered how to drown people, it's pretty easy, just cast the water spell straight into their lungs. Works like clockwork; got rid of a lotta competition that way, trying to get into the SOLDIER Academy... so much easier, it's like guaranteed winning... And you know, it can work on anyone, there's no real defensive spell that can defend against that..."

They reached the front of the building, and Ames shoved Cloud ahead of him, ignoring Cloud's yelp of pain as he hit one of the bare patches of wall. Instead, he searched some of the overgrown hedges along the wall until his hands caught onto something. Cloud watched as Ames dragged a long metal box out of the hedges, breaking the locks until he could crack the top of the box open. Grinning, Ames reached into the box and drew out a long sword, something that reminded Cloud of the diagrams in his history textbooks about the Wutai War. Ames inserted the materia into an empty slot on the blade, and then looked at Cloud with a razor-sharp grin.

"We'll see, Cloud. We'll see just how good the Great Sephiroth really is, won't we?"

***

"Shit..." Zack stood up, raking a hand through his hair and frowning. "This's impossible. No one can keep up a pace like this for as long as he has. Not even many Soldiers could." He turned, looked at Sephiroth, who stood ankle-deep in the river water, keeping an eye on the chocobo. "Hell, Seph, even the chocobo can't keep up."

"Indeed." Sephiroth seemed distracted by something, crossing his arms. "More evidence... It's just becoming more apparent that Hojo is involved."

"But if that's true," Zack said, "why the hell would Jennison be moving away from Midgar, and Hojo? Some sort of falling-out between the two?"

"Jennison might be one of Hojo's pawns," Seph said, finally taking the reins of the chocobo and leading them back up the river bank, "but he's still just a boy, and a teenager at that." He tossed Zack his chocobo's reins, before mounting his own. "And knowing Hojo, he's bound to be furious with him."

"So you think this is some sort of teenager rebellion?"

Sephiroth gave Zack one of his "I know you're smarter than that" looks, before finally saying, "More than that. Being a specimen, he's bound to be suffering psychologically from everything that's been going on. We're essentially dealing with a madman with emotional and physical trauma, not to mention the hormones..."

"And a captive who is not only also somewhat traumatized, but extremely vulnerable and inexperienced." Zack sighed, slumping slightly as they started following Ames's tracks again. "Shit, Seph, why does this sort of thing always happen to us?"

"The way of the world, Zackary. The way of the world..."

***

In the darkness of the Shinra labs, there was only one man at work, jotting down recent notes on his notepad as he analyzed a few specimens. The small creatures were kept in separate, labeled jars on a countertop, labeled with mixed up letters and numbers that meant nothing to anyone except for the professor himself.

Hojo had just straightened from checking one of his specimens when he heard an ominous click and felt the cold metal of a gun barrel put to his head.

"Hojo," said a cold voice behind him, "we have to have a little talk."

The professor shrugged and turned around, looking at the Turk with equally dispassionate eyes. "Tseng. It's impolite to invite oneself into another's domain."

"You have no domain, Hojo."

"Really? Most of SOLDIER seems to think so. I know Sephiroth does." With a smirk, Hojo turned back to his specimens. "Just let me finish taking my notes, Turk, and I'll be with you shortly. And put down that gun; we wouldn't want you to accidentally hurt my precious specimens, hmm?"

"Don't worry," Tseng muttered, "Turks don't miss their target."

"What a pleasant thought. I'm sure Valentine must have thought that, too." Putting down his notepad and adjusting his spectacles, Hojo turned back to Tseng and smirked. "Do you remember that Turk, Tseng? He was an even better shot than you, I believe. If I remember correctly, he was put somewhat into--what did they call it in the report?--'early retirement'."

"If you're threatening me, Hojo--"

"Please, Tseng, I'm just a lowly professor," Hojo hissed, sarcasm dripping. "Of course I'm threatening you! If it came down between me or a Turk, we all know who the President would sacrifice. Besides which, you wouldn't dare pull that trigger. I know who you really work for, Tseng, and the young Shinra would not be pleased if I couldn't continue working on those projects he gave me."

Tseng's brow furrowed. "Projects? Rufus?"

"He hasn't told you, I see... Heh, good. The brat knows how to keep his mouth shut, after all." Hojo shrugged. "In any case, I'm a very busy man, Tseng. And if this is about my meddling in SOLDIER--"

"Everyone spies on the other departments," Tseng said matter-of-factly, "we all know this. But there are certain lines and boundaries that are not to be crossed, and what your little spy has done is break every boundary that I can think of..."

"Indeed, he has. He's troublesome, not even worth the effort I put into him." Hojo turned back to the countertop, picking up his notepad. "Have him brought back to me alive and I'll torture him as much as you want. He'll never leave the labs again."

"So long as Sephiroth follows his orders, then you have a deal."

"Sephiroth?" Hojo didn't stop working, but there was something different about his voice. Tseng continued on calmly.

"Your spy kidnapped a SOLDIER candidate and ran off with him. The damage he caused on his way out was considerable. Not only did he attract the attention of First Class Zackary Donovan, but the Commander of SOLDIER himself."

"...I see. This boy you mention--"

"Quite frankly, his relationship with Donovan and the Commander are none of your business, and I'm not at liberty to tell you anything." Tseng smiled slightly. "However, if you don't want to find Masamune at your throat one evening, professor, I'd recommend you leave that boy alone. Now, if you excuse me, I have business elsewhere that I need to attend to..." Turning, the Turk holstered his gun and went on his way.

***

After he had retrieved the sword from its hiding place, Ames took Cloud by the arm and began leading him into the old building. Cloud followed, jumping every time Ames slammed a door behind them, pausing after some of them as if to cast a spell on them. He wasn't sure what kind of spells they were, but Ames's threat to set up the entire building to crumble or flood was fresh in his mind, and he didn't want to disturb or ask Ames while the other young would-be candidate was in such a mood.

Finally, after a few minutes, Ames dragged him into a side room. It had gotten dark very quickly, and Cloud stumbled into the room when Ames unexpectedly let go of his arm. Cloud turned around, and Ames just left him gaping for a few moments while he left the room, double-checked the hallway just outside. Satisfied that there were no monsters in the immediate area, he ducked back, only to see Cloud sitting on the floor, back against a crate, head in hands.

"Don't worry, Cloud," Ames said, leaning the sword against the wall before sitting down beside Cloud. "No more running for the rest of today. You can sleep."

Cloud said nothing, rocked forward slightly. Ames put a hand on Cloud's shoulder, steadying him, before leaning back more comfortably against the large crate himself. He had been running all day, too, after all... surely he could take one minute for a breather.

After a few moments, Cloud completely stilled. Ames let his hand drift across Cloud's back, to his other shoulder, and he carefully leaned Cloud against him, letting his other hand rest in Cloud's hair. It felt good to do so, felt good to have someone to lean against him again, someone...

"You don't know what it's like, spending all of your early days stuck in a fucking lab," Ames muttered, tilting his head back and looking out the room's sole window. The moon was high in the sky, not really full, but large and bright enough to give him ample light to see. "Stuck with needles and tubes every day, not being able to go more than a few days at a time without your 'medicine'... Feels like it's sucking your soul out of those tubes, same time it's pumping other stuff in..."

Cloud was quiet. He wasn't even sure if his captive was awake any more, and he couldn't stop his hand from stroking Cloud's arm, from venturing up to the gold crown of hair.

"Don't know what the hell the professor did to the Commander, but he said... he said it was the same thing he did to me, the exact same... so why the hell is the Commander so different? What makes him so special? Why is he allowed to fuck and screw over whomever he damn well pleases, without a care in the world? Why does he get to have everything I want?"

"...but Sephiroth doesn't do that..." The voice was quiet, oddly thoughtful. "And he doesn't know that you're like him..."

"He wouldn't care, even if he did know, Cloud. That's the thing. The man doesn't care. I'm not even sure why the hell he chose you along with Donovan, unless perhaps he just thought you'd be a good screw."

"...he's not like that--"

"Bullshit. How long have you known him, eh? I've been forced to watch the bastard ever since Hojo first decided to stick me in his glass tubes. I know him. He picks and chooses and discards everything else. He doesn't care; he can't make himself care. Has something to do with his position, his power; if he cared, he wouldn't be there. If he cared, he wouldn't have let you get blamed for Gunther's murder in the first place. If he cared, this would be his arm around you, not mine."

Cloud sounded hurt, and more tired than before. "He does... he does, it's why he has nightmares..."

"You don't know that. You don't know anything for certain."

"Yes, I do. If I didn't, why would I have any reason to believe you?"

Ames paused, thinking about this, before biting back a soft laugh. "Guess you have a point here. So why the hell do you believe me?"

Cloud shifted, as if to lean away from him, but he tightened his arm around him, a quiet and simple warning. Cloud quickly leaned back against him, knowing better than resisting. "Maybe 'cause you lost Keith, and I know that that hurt you. And you're the same person now that I saw hurting then. I don't know."

"Heh, sounded pretty good to me, even if not all that convincing..." Ames fought back a yawn; hard to believe he was tired. He was likely to die tomorrow, how could he afford to be tired? "So, was it worth it?"

"What...?" Cloud said, confused.

"Was it worth it, being with them."

Cloud yawned, and he glanced down to see that he had closed his eyes. "Yes. Every moment of it."

When it became more obvious that Cloud had drifted entirely to sleep, Ames carefully laid the recruit down on the floor, before picking himself up and drifting out of the room, silent as a ghost.

Some time passed, and Cloud wasn't sure what could have awakened him. The darkness surprised him, and once again he felt disoriented, unsure if he had been moved to a different room or if he were still in the same, or even if he was possibly alone again. Rubbing at his eyes with one hand, he pushed himself up into a sitting position, and then slowly stood. His legs still felt weak under him, but they weren't as bad as they had been.

His gaze wavered unsteadily, traveling about the room with careful slowness, eyes squinting as he sought to see through the darkness. Carefully, he reached with his hands, felt around as he tried to find his way around the dark room. He felt wood, mostly, the edges of old crates, some felt and smelled rotted. But then he felt more cool, familiar concrete and then--yes, cloth. Heavy, thick canvas, covering something not as strong or as whole as the concrete. He felt the covered area carefully, before giving it an experimental push. Sure enough, it was a door, and it swung open noiselessly, slowly. It led into a hallway that seemed to be lighter than his current, unguarded prison, and so he stepped into the corridor, looking about for any sign of his kidnapper.

Ames was nowhere in sight.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Cloud began to venture down the hallway, a hand on the nearest wall to steady himself. There were two windows, one on each end of the hall, so he had enough light to see a little... at least enough that he didn't trip over too much, didn't make much noise. In the still of the old, old building, his breathing seemed too loud and he did his best to keep quiet, attempted to hide the noise as much as possible. He had no doubts that Ames could find him easily if he knew that he had gotten out, and if Ames were to catch him... he wasn't sure what would happen. He didn't think Ames would kill him, but...

There were a few doors on either side of the corridor, and for a few moments he stood in the middle, trying to orient himself, trying to remember...

Still, try as he might, he could not recall exactly how Ames had brought him here. He panicked for a few moments, before deciding that his only option was to guess, randomly, and pray that he didn't get lost or, worse, walk straight into Ames. He decided to go to one of the far doors, one nearby the window letting in the most light, so he might have the outer wall and the moonlight as some sort or orientation, and he slowly opened the door.

It opened into a closed, small room that might have been a kitchen at one time, but now was nothing more than empty pantries and dirty metal appliances, some of which had rusted away, others which were growing some odd mutation of fungus or plant, and with a hand over his mouth to fight back the nausea, Cloud quickly crossed the room and went into the next, glad to see it was another hallway, and a long one at that.

 _Maybe, just maybe, it will lead to a way out of here,_ Cloud thought, feeling his hopes rising as he carefully took step after step. _If I can just get out of here, maybe I'll be able to hide, or get away, or something..._

However, he felt his hopes deteriorate just as quickly as they rose, the moment he heard a hacking cough from nearby. His eyes immediately went to the nearest door, wondering what could possibly be in it, but decided anything would be better than being caught by his captor. He went to the door and pulled it open, wincing when the door shrieked in resistance, but what was done was done, and he hurriedly pulled it closed, looking desperately for something he could do to keep the door shut, but found that he had shut himself inside something like a storage room, only dimly lit by the broken glass window over the door.

He very nearly cursed, but he kept himself silent when he heard approaching footsteps. He pressed himself into a nearby corner, crouched down and tried to make himself as small as he could, as immobile as he could.

The footsteps were coming down the hall, pausing from time to time. There came another hacking cough, a rattling sound that could have been a laugh, and he curled up tighter as the footsteps came closer. He watched as two shadows fell across the little sliver of light from beneath the door, and he winced.

"Cloud, honestly..." The voice was amused, hoarse but amused, but Cloud remained silent, even when he saw the doorknob turning. "Very cute of you, to attempt escape, but did you really think--" the door swung open, protesting and groaning, until it came cleanly off its own hinges, and Cloud winced when he heard it crash to the floor "--did you really think you could hide from me so easily?"

Two footsteps, and Ames was in the room, half-open eyes immediately resting upon him in his little corner. Ames snickered and bared his teeth in a grin, exposing fangs, and started to come forward, reaching with an arm. It took Cloud a few seconds of staring to figure out just what it was about that arm that frightened him, but then he saw how it had become hairless, tinged with gray, and what had once been skin were now scales, fingers elongated and each tipped with one sharp, slightly curved nail. Cloud tried to lean back, further out of reach, as that inhuman hand came closer, but then he noticed the smear of blood on the forearm and he looked up, only to notice the obvious stain of blood around Ames's mouth, and again on the collar of his uniform.

"You're sick," he murmured, and Ames stopped. After a few moments, Ames grinned, actually began to laugh as his hand gripped Cloud by the arm and pulled him up to his feet before shoving him back against the wall. The laughter soon became another fit of coughing, and Ames turned his head aside, raised his arm to cover his mouth, and Cloud could see the blood clots, his own eyes widening. When Ames turned back to him, the smile was grim, and rueful.

"Yeah, I'm sick," Ames said, "sick, and I can't get the medicine anymore. So why don't you behave and give me less trouble, hmm...?"

Cloud shook his head, eyes still wide. "Why... why don't you get help...?"

"Help's not coming," Ames said with a shrug, even before Cloud could finish his question. "Help's never coming, not for me or for you." Before Cloud could take that in, Ames grabbed him by the arm again, jabbed him with a needle. Cloud gasped in sudden pain, stared and nearly felt himself retch as Ames jerked the syringe back out and tossed it aside, carelessly. His limbs suddenly felt weak and he felt himself begin to fall forward, but Ames was there and caught him, supported him, before lifting him from the floor and starting to carry him.

"Tranquilizer, sorta," Ames muttered, as he started back down the path Cloud had only recently taken, carrying him back toward the room. "Just enough to keep you weak-kneed so you won't try that again. If it makes you nauseous, just let me know. I'll leave my canteen of water with you so you can drink some of that, if you want."

Cloud knew attempting to struggle was useless, just let himself get carried back through the kitchen and into that hallway. Instead of putting him into the dark room again, however, Ames kicked open a door into a different room, one with a cot. The cot was old, and uncomfortable, but the room seemed to be in better shape than any of the others Cloud could remember seeing, and he allowed himself to get placed on it without any resistance. He doubted it would serve any purpose, in any case, besides possibly pissing Ames off, and that was definitely not what he wanted.

"The monsters in this area are smarter than I thought they were," Ames continued, sitting on the very edge of the cot and looking down at him. "Like rats. They abandoned this place practically as soon as we showed up. I just finished checking the rest of the building out, and they're definitely all gone."

He was trying desperately not cry again, and managed to get out, "And the rats?"

"They're gone, too." A once-human hand ghosted over his cheek, slid down and cupped his chin, as Ames leaned further down, as if to look at him closer. "Finally have you all to myself... finally... I could, I could..." His voice trailed off, but Cloud had no doubt about what Ames was going to say, could hear the unspoken words lingering on the same lips that kissed him. He closed his eyes, tried not to pull back or shove away in revulsion, because he knew that if he did, then he might make Ames angry...

***

Ames could taste Cloud's fear, could taste it in the tears he kissed away, could taste it in every shaking kiss and feel it beating with Cloud's heart, in time with his pulse. He could tell, could feel, that Cloud was doing this because he was so frightened, but that was okay. He understood, he could understand Cloud better than anyone else, after all, and with his murmured comforts he did what he could to ease that same fear. After all, it wasn't his goal to be cruel to Cloud. He wanted to be kind to him, he wanted to show him that he could be kind. He wanted to give Cloud another chance.

 _I want you to choose me... I want you to love me, not them, not those bastards..._

He would be kind. He continued to tell himself that, even when he lowered his face to Cloud's neck, breathed in Cloud's scent, started to lay kisses along the line of his throat. When he raised his head to glance at Cloud's face, he could see Cloud's eyes had closed, his face slightly flushed. He smiled, briefly, knew exactly what he was going to do, now...

 _I will be kind._


	10. Unknown Shores

Zack carefully tethered their chocobo to a nearby tree, glancing up to see Sephiroth staring at the abandoned facility before them. Ames's tracks had led them straight to it, and Sephiroth had been a little unsettled when they had broken through the clearing. Apparently, he remembered it from a "training session" he had gone through when he was much, much younger.

"How old is this place, again?" he asked, leaving the chocobo and going to Sephiroth's side. Sephiroth glanced at him, then nodded.

"It was built several years before the Wutai War. I'm surprised Ames even knows of this place, let alone where to find it." His voice lowered, and one of his hands brushed the hilt of the Masamune. "Unless he had been sent here on a 'training session' himself..."

"So, anything we should be aware of? That you can remember?"

"There's only one main entrance, and that's the front door. He's likely to have traps set up, or at least be ready to defend it at that point... Otherwise, we'll have free access to the rest of the building." Sephiroth started forward, hand now gripping Masamune's hilt. Zack followed, unsheathing his Buster Sword. "Attempting to go through the back would be suicide... I'm surprised the building hasn't collapsed yet."

"Guess that means we should try to avoid any powerful spells and try to avoid shaking things up as much as possible, huh?"

"Until we can find Cloud and get the hell out, yes."

Carefully, they approached the front of the building. Most of the windows along the front side were boarded up, at least most of the ones on the ground floor. Some of the higher story windows, however, were either punched out or in some other state of disrepair. When they finally reached the door, Zack put his hand on the knob and carefully twisted it. The door refused to budge, and with little more than a grunt, Zack raised his fist and then swung it back down. He knocked off the door's handle, knob, lock, and all, and then waited for Sephiroth's nod before pushing the door open. Sephiroth went in first, and he followed right behind him.

Just as Sephiroth had said, the front doorway seemed to lead immediately into what might have once been a lobby of sorts. There were several different doorways leading off into several different directions, but there was no sign of Ames or Cloud anywhere. All Zack could see, as his Mako eyes quickly adjusted to the dim light, were dust, cobwebs, and old furniture that looked like something very nasty had been nesting in it.

"Any idea where he might have hidden--?" Zack started to ask, only to be cut off when one of the doors to the room fell open. They both stared in surprise when Ames entered the lobby, a massive long sword held in one hand. Ames grinned at them, Mako eyes shining brilliantly through the dust cloud, and as he stepped further into the room they could see just how much he had changed, how less human he had become.

"I've been expecting you two," Ames sneered. "Took you long enough, didn't it?"

"Jennison," Zack growled, sliding immediately into an offensive stance. "Just give in now, and tell us where you've hidden Cloud!"

"I don't think he wants to see you--either of you--right now," the specimen snapped right back. "I'm not just going to give him back to you after I went to all this trouble."

"You give us no choice, Jennison," Sephiroth said coldly, drawing Masamune. "You have no one else to blame but yourself."

"We'll see...!" Ames sprand toward them with amazing speed, sword raised for a wide swing directed at both of them. Zack and Sephiroth immediately avoided the swing, and then glanced at each other. Exchanging wordless orders, they both nodded. As soon as Zack's feet touched solid ground he took off running toward the nearest door, ignoring Ames's curse as he was left to deal with Sephiroth.

For a few seconds, Ames and Sephiroth circled one another, Sephiroth making sure to keep himself between Ames and the door that Zack had gone through. He kept a wary eye on Ames while trying to listen, trying to hear if there was anyone or anything else in the building, but was suddenly distracted from that when Ames darted toward one of the other doorways. Sephiroth bit back his own oath as he started afterward, growling when he saw Ames duck down another corridor. He couldn't abandon his search for Ames anymore than he could forget that Cloud was trapped in the building, as well, because if he did that, Ames might try to head Zack off... after all, it was apparent Ames knew his way around the building.

 _Knows his way too damn well for my comfort._ He heard a door slam ahead of him, and immediately turned down another corridor, seeing that it dead-ended right into the door that he presumably heard close. He took a deep breath before kicking the door open, without hesitance, and it was only his instinct that saved him; he ducked just as Ames's sword swung over him, clanging against the doorway. He rolled away before jumping up onto his feet, watched as Ames freed his blade from the wall.

"Jennison, I won't warn you again," Sephiroth said as Ames turned to face him, "surrender your weapons, materia, and yourself. Just let us find Cloud and get the hell out of here."

"Cloud..." Ames turned his head to the side and spat blood, before approaching Sephiroth slowly. "I'm not going to surrender. You might as well just go ahead and kill me. If you're so great, you'll do it all fast enough that you might even convince Cloud that you didn't enjoy it."

"You give yourself too much credit, Jennison," he said, starting forward... but stopping, confusion striking him just as fast and as hard as the sudden spell did. He froze, looking at Ames in surprise, saw the smirk on Ames's face and knew instantly what was happening, the moment he felt a trickle of liquid down his throat, into his lungs...

"I give who too much credit, Commander?" Ames asked, voice low as he continued pacing in front of Sephiroth, watching him, tip of the blade trained on the Commander in order to keep up the spell, keep up the pressure slowly building in Sephiroth's lungs. "Hell, this is gonna be easier than I thought... If I can take you down with this spell, then Donovan's not going to stand a chance."

He coughed, choked, but something was keeping him from moving, keeping him from breathing. Ames could see the frustration, the concentration on his face, attempting to hold onto whatever air he had and keep the water out--

"You know, though... that means I'll be able to have Cloud all to myself." Ames stopped pacing, instead drew closer, sticking the point of the blade right underneath Sephiroth's chin. "All to myself... and him... in him... C'mon, Commander, I want to know, did you enjoy having him in your bed as much as I did...? He's still pretty inexperienced, but the expression on his face when he--"

There came a sharp crack, rage breaking through spell and barrier, snapping invisible bonds and allowing him to break free in an instant, arm and hooked fist swinging up in an uppercut that caught Ames right on the jaw. Ames staggered back, unprepared for the other attack that knocked the blade from his hands and severed his concentration and connection with the materia. Sephiroth took a step back and began coughing up water, willing it all to come out. It did come out but it burned his throat as it did, and when he finally felt his lungs clear he raised narrowed, burning, enraged emerald eyes.

"Be thankful I gave my word I'd bring you in alive...!"

Ames was picking himself up, feeling his jaw gingerly, before grinning at Sephiroth insolently. He raised a hand, displaying sharp claws, before leaning forward and charging at a break-neck speed.

***

Zack was thankful for his good sense of direction and Sephiroth's excellent sense of logic. Though really, it wasn't all that hard to figure out; if Sephiroth kept Ames busy, he could be free to find Cloud and then they could get him the hell out of there, with or without Ames. Even though he wasn't sure what was happening to the candidate, he was certain it wasn't good, and certainly wasn't healthy.

 _Just keep him occupied, Seph. As soon as I get Cloud out of here, I'll join you and we can both take care of Jennison... one way or the other._

He did not consider himself a vengeful man, but he had a few boundaries that others just shouldn't cross.

 _Kidnapping one of my best friends is one of them._

As he started down the various hallways and stopped to investigate the rooms he found along his way, Zack began to see just why the building would have been chosen as a site for training. The lack of windows, the variety of rooms and corridors and the questionable condition of each... He could imagine it would have made prime monster nesting grounds, as well.

He moved further to the back of the building, wrenching open doors and breaking down others. He wasn't sure how Ames had managed to lock or bar so many of them, but he imagined it had something to do with those odd spells he seemed to be able to throw around. Finally, he entered what appeared to be an area designated for storage rooms; every room he entered was filled to the brim with crates, packages, canvas bags, and a few were filled with the reek of rotten food. He had the oddest feeling that he was getting closer, and kept working down another hall, before opening a door and scanning his eyes over a room's particular contents. He started to close the door, but stopped when he caught a stray streak of gold out of the corner of his eye. Immediately throwing the door wide open, he sheathed the Buster Sword, kicking a pile of boxes out of his way, and saw that Cloud lay in the middle of the floor, on his side. His face was turned away from him, so Zack couldn't see if he were awake or even alive...

"Cloud...?!" Zack started shoving the crates and furniture out of his way, moving closer, growing more alarmed when Cloud did not move from his place on the floor, did not move at all. As soon as he had cleared away a path from the door to the center of the room, he ran to Cloud's side, noting the canteen resting on the floor beside Cloud. Quickly he picked up the canteen, sniffed the contents, took a sip and let the liquid sit on his tongue, before spitting it back out to the side. He didn't think it had been poisonous, but there was still no way to tell if Ames had put some sort of drug inside.

Shaking his head, Zack put an arm on Cloud's shoulder, carefully shook the young trooper. Cloud merely groaned, turned onto his back, and cracked open tired eyes, obviously confused.

"Cloud, it's me, Zack..." He eased one hand behind Cloud's back to help him sit up, and Cloud shook his head limply, putting one hand to his head.

"...told me to... to sleep," Cloud whispered, still confused. He looked up at Zack, a little fearfully. "Where... where is he...?"

"Seph's taking care of him, so don't worry," Zack said. "Cloud, did he force you to eat or drink anything?"

"No, but... needles... gave me something... tranks...?"

"Tranquilizers? Anything else, did he say, or...?" He trailed off when Cloud slowly shook his head, and looked up at him helplessly.

"I don't know. But, he... he always gave me water, from the river..."

"You didn't see him put anything in it, did you?"

Another shake of the head, before one of Cloud's hands rose and clutched at Zack's uniform. "Need to get away... please, please..."

Zack sensed a different kind of urgency in Cloud, as well, could feel it in the way Cloud's body tensed even from their simple contact. He hooked his other arm beneath Cloud's knees, and lifted him, watching as Cloud clung to him, closing his eyes and shaking.

"Don't worry, Cloud, we're going to get you out of here. We won't let that bastard touch you again, okay?"

"...that's the same thing... he said..." It was little more than a soft sob, and Zack took a deep breath, tried not to let his anger show. He could see the stains on Cloud's uniform, could make out enough from Cloud's body language that Cloud had been forced into something he had been unwilling to do, something he had been unprepared for, and Zack knew exactly what kind of thing that would be.

"You hold on, okay, Cloud?" Zack said, heading back to the door and starting down the halls. He wasn't entirely sure which way he had come, but he knew he could get them out of there. It was while they were still walking through the storage area that they felt a low tremor, forcing Zack to brace his feet. Cloud leaned his head against Zack's chest, hand gripping his uniform tighter, and Zack watched in mild disbelief as small clouds of dust fell from the ceiling. "Shit... He was crazy to bring you here...!"

"Please, gotta get outta here," Cloud said, and Zack nodded as he started jogging down the halls.

"Yeah, we're on our way, we're going..."

***

Sephiroth couldn't remember exactly when he had performed the lunge that had managed to embed Masamune into the wall, but remembered quite clearly that the impact--and possibly his own anger accidentally channeling into the earth materia on the hilt--had caused a tremor to sweep through the environs. And despite of his speed, Ames had still managed to avoid the nearly fatal attack, ducking down and around and leaping forward with claws bared.

From that point on, it had become a hand-to-hand battle, and while he had power and speed and experience on his hands, Ames was managing to get by with surprising agility.

"You're good, Jennison," Sephiroth grunted, countering a blow with a kick that would have taken Ames's legs out from under him, if he hadn't managed to sidestep and twist out or Sephiroth's reach. "But you know that you're going to give out sooner or later, mutation or not. Why did Hojo send you out on such a suicide mission?"

"He didn't," Ames snarled, jumping back and wiping more blood from his mouth. "If I went crawling back to him now, he'd see me dead."

"At the rate that you're going, you will be dead." Sephiroth considered pursuing his own offensive attack, but Ames was surprisingly fast, and he didn't want to waste his own energy on attacks that might as well be easier dodged. It was much easier to counter Ames's frenzied attacks.

"Not if I get rid of Donovan... and of you!" Ames did move first, and not quite the way Sephiroth expected; the sudden kick was not what he had been expecting, but he blocked it and then quickly grabbed Ames by the shoulders, slamming him up against the wall. Ames immediately struggled, tried to push back, arms raised to push Sephiroth's hands away from him.

"What do you gain," he growled through clenched teeth, "by getting rid of us?"

"Yes, if I can kill you, Hojo will see that I am the best," Ames said, shoving Sephiroth away with a burst of strength. "If I'm the best, then he won't let me die! And then Cloud will want me!"

"You should know better than to believe your own lies, Jennison."

"Seph!"

They both stopped at the sound of that voice, and Sephiroth turned just as Zack came to the doorway, still carrying Cloud in his arms. "I've got 'im! Let's get the hell out of here!"

Ames's eyes narrowed, and with a snarl he twisted, turned, managing to land a kick straight to Sephiroth's side and screaming in denial.

"No, he's mine, you fuckin' bastards! MINE!"

Zack knew an enraged bull when he saw one and wisely ducked back out of the room, charging out into the hallway and hoping Sephiroth was up for tackling Ames barehanded, because he was fairly certain that Masamune was still stuck a few good feet into the wall. However, when he heard Sephiroth curse he knew he was in trouble, and suddenly drew to a halt when a portion of the wall in front of him collapsed, and Ames was standing in the middle of the debris and dustcloud, glaring at him with eyes that were far from human.

 _"MINE!"_

"Shit...!" Zack looked over his shoulder, saw Sephiroth come out of the room with Masamune in hand, but didn't have time to maneuver backward before Ames had run up to him, snatching Cloud from his arms. All of the noise and sudden movement had jostled Cloud from unconsciousness, and when he opened his eyes he screamed, especially as Ames shifted his hold on him and slammed him up against the wall. He wanted to struggle but couldn't, a scaly, clawed hand wrapped around his throat. He could feel the fingers straining, wanting to squeeze, and when his eyesight finally cleared enough he could see Ames standing, his other, now-scaled arm raised, clawed hand held menacingly close to his face. He swallowed, gasped, choked, looked at Zack and Sephiroth to see them both standing a short distance away, Zack obviously alarmed and even Sephiroth betraying some of his emotion.

"Za--" His throat suddenly closed on him and he gagged, mad panic gripping him at the same time that Ames's hand seized his throat like a vise. It released him just as quickly, but the maddening jolt of pain was more than enough to scare him into silence, just as the slitted, almost reptilian eyes glanced his way, burning a brighter blue than ever.

"Silence," Ames hissed, before his eyes darted back to his two opponents. "Stay back... stay away...! I'll kill him!"

"Jennison," Zack said, keeping his voice quiet, "stop it right now. Think about what you're doing--"

"I've thought about this long enough, you bastard!" Ames spat, his claws twitching even closer to Cloud's vulnerable face, his throat. "You don't understand... you don't fuckin' understand! None of you do!"

"Whatever you've been through, Jennison," Sephiroth said, coldly, "it does not justify this. Nothing justifies this."

"Bullshit." Ames growled, took a step closer to Cloud, ignoring the trickle of blackish blood from the corner of his mouth. "Bullshit, all of it... You don't care, don't give a damn... Shinra gives you orders to kill someone, and you do it, you never question, you just get the job done. That's why you're the goddamned perfect soldier, that's why you're praised and honored... A glorified assassin, that's what you are, all you are, that's what your entire identity is based on... And you don't even have the human decency to care about the lives around you that are destroyed, because other people's lives are based around you." Ames turned his head to look at Cloud's face, free hand dragging the tips of talons down one cheek in a caress, cold and it made Cloud shiver, made him shut his eyes. "You don't care about those who want nothing more than to become you... you don't care about them or their lives... you don't care about those who have no choice but to strive to become you... You don't care, you can't... You're not even capable of--"

"Ames!" Zack interrupted, and though he tried to take a step closer, he was stopped by a gloved hand on his arm.

"I won't deny that some of what you say is true," Sephiroth said, "but it's not real truth. You've been around Hojo far too long, Jennison."

"No more than you," Ames sneered, his hand still moving in that oddly kind gesture, "no more than you... But it doesn't matter, you see..." His eyes went back to his opponents, manic grin dancing across his expression. "I'm going to free him. I'm going to free him, and then I will join him, because I'm going to die soon. I'm all out of medicine, you see?"

Zack seemed even more alarmed than before. "Free him? Ames, you can't... You can't kill him!"

"Heh, I think I can, Donovan," Ames said, his expression smug. "I could do it right now, if I wanted... and then what would you do? Kill me? Have your revenge?"

"Jennison, I shall not warn you again," Sephiroth said. "Release him. You have no right to choose whether or not he should live or die."

"He's young and naive," the recruit muttered. "He doesn't know what's ahead of him, not if he stays with you, and not if... not if Hojo gets him... I won't let you or Hojo have him...! I won't let you, he's mine... I will protect him, from you, from Hojo, from the rest of the world. I will become his death, and I will embrace him, and it will be me who will love him forever, not anyone else!"

"Have you even considered he might not desire death?"

"Oh, if he doesn't now, then he certainly will later. I'm sure of that. Now..." Ames pulled Cloud away from the wall, pulled him in front of him, wrapping one arm around the younger recruit's arms and chest, while keeping the tips of his claws resting on Cloud's throat. "Now, I don't want you two to follow us... so I want you to stay right where you are, and if I see either one of you move at all, I will kill him immediately." That said, Ames dragged Cloud backwards, through the nearest doorway, and immediately Zack rushed forward, just as a heavy metal door slammed shut over the opening. There came the sound of a lock, and Zack cursed, turning to Sephiroth.

"This isn't going to be as simple as I had hoped," Sephiroth muttered, and sheathed Masamune. He was already turning, starting back down the way they had come. Without even questioning him, Zack followed, and hoped Sephiroth had a better idea where Ames might possibly be taking Cloud than he did. If nothing else, though, it seemed Sephiroth's memory of the place was helping considerably; without any hesitation, the silver-haired Commander took a sudden turn and started vaulting up a stairway that Zack had not even noticed during their earlier search.

***

Cloud cried out when he was suddenly shoved ahead of Ames, tried to turn and stumbled, falling backwards until he landed awkwardly on his back. Wincing, he picked himself up in time to see Ames slamming shut the doorway, locking the metal door and then breaking the locking mechanism, before turning to look at him. Cloud shuddered, and realized that it was no longer Ames's eyes that made him so cold.

There were up on the roof of the building, some of which was missing; giant holes gaped in the concrete and whatever else there was here, and the wind from off the nearby mountains were cool. The chilled night air didn't make it much better, but at least the moon gave him more light to see by.

He started to push himself up, but Ames reached him before he could even consider his next move, his next option. He hadn't thought Ames would kill him, but when he had heard Zack and Sephiroth attempting to convince him, down below...

"Please," Cloud said, eyes tearing up when Ames shoved him back down, claws digging into his shoulders as Ames straddled him, pinning him effectively to the floor. "Please, Ames, don't, I don't wanna--"

And Ames smiled, reaching with one claw and using the sharp edge to cut open Cloud's shirt, exposing his bare chest to the cool air. Cloud shuddered again, tried to speak but a hand closed over his mouth.

"Shhh," Ames hissed, his voice soft, even when there came a sudden pounding noise from the metal door, causing it to reverberate in its frame. "Don't worry, Cloud, don't be afraid... I promise, I won't let them take you away from me... They don't deserve you, they don't even want you... so I'll free us both from this... just you... and me..."

Cloud shook his head, tried to scream but couldn't, and even when the hand left his mouth, his lips were immediately covered by Ames's, just as he felt the hand drag down to his chest, the claws leaving red marks in their wake. He tried to struggle, tried to fight back, but Ames's other hand had caught in his hair, and he couldn't break away at all, couldn't force Ames from on top of him.

He felt the warm spurt of blood on his chest and wondered how death could be so painless, how Ames's claws could cut so cleanly and smoothly that he felt no pain, but then he felt the blood flowing into his mouth, opened his eyes to see Ames's own eyes wide, shock and surprise and fear all shimmering in those unnatural, glowing serpent's eyes. Ames leaned back, sputtered and gurgled and Cloud looked down, saw the sharp tip of Masamune emerging from one of Ames's shoulders. Ames was suddenly jerked back, his claws reaching for Cloud in one desperate grab, as it to stop himself from being pulled away, but only managed to scratch Cloud's arm. Cloud winced and bit back a cry of pain, trying to lift himself up, feeling familiar hands reach underneath his arms and pull him up to his feet, quickly. He knew without having to look that it was Zack helping him to his feet, while Sephiroth removed Masamune from Ames's body, pinning the recruit to the floor with a boot to his back. Cloud coughed and tried to spit out the blood, tried but his mouth was so dry, it seemed he had no choice to taste and swallow that black substance. He shut his eyes and felt Zack's hands on his shoulders, now, turning him around and embracing him, familiarity surrounding him once more as he heard Zack whispering comforting things into his ear, things that he didn't really hear or understand but knew to be comforting...

Cloud's hands clutched at Zack's uniform, and did not let go. If Zack or Sephiroth said anything, he did not hear it.

***

Reno sat on top of the Academy's walls, binoculars in one hand, cigarette in the other. It was entirely too early to be doing this, on the look-out for the returning Commander and First Class, but Tseng had told him to be at the gate when they arrived, and he'd be damned if he disappointed his boss any further.

"Any sign of them yet?" came a voice from the nearest stairs, and he didn't even have to look to know it was Tseng.

"Not yet, boss. According to their message, they might not get here for another thirty minutes. Said it depended on Jennison and his condition."

Tseng nodded, walking to Reno's side and looking to the west, crossing his arms. "I had a talk with the good professor. It seems we've reached something of a compromise."

"Oh, did we? Does this mean he's going to keep his nose out of SOLDIER's own bloody business, now?"

"Not likely, and I'm certain this will only be a temporary deterrence. But I'd wager he'll be a little bit more careful about how he conducts his clandestine experiments within the organization from now on. If something like this were to happen again, he might lose... well, everything. In any case..." Tseng breathed a sigh, raising one hand to rub at the bridge of his nose. "In any case, I'm having them prep the helicopter so we can return to headquarters as quickly as possible."

Reno held out his cigarette, lowering the binoculars long enough to grin at the older man. "Need an advil, old man?"

"I've been trying to quit," Tseng muttered, though he did take the cigarette from Reno's fingers. "And I'm not that old, Reno, so shut the fuck up about my age."

"Heh, yessir." Reno turned back to the horizon, raising the binoculars to his eyes. "Oh... wait a second, that's them all right! Shit, but the Commander looks pissed. Then again, it looks like Jennison's bleeding all over his chocobo..."

"And the boy?"

"Strife's alive, anyway, riding with Donovan. Looks kinda sick, actually. Might wanna get a medic up here; he's wearing bandages. Don't look much like the best first aid, either."

"Get on it," Tseng muttered, snubbing out the cigarette before flicking it over the wall. "Meet me at the front gate, and make sure we have a guard of Soldiers with us, just in case."

"Will do," Reno said, before heading down the stairs. Tseng looked out at the horizon, could see the dust clouds raised by the chocobo's feet as they approached the campus. He nodded, silently letting out a sigh of relief, before following Reno more slowly. When he reached the bottom of the wall, he ordered that the gate be opened, and stood just outside the gate to watch as the Commander and Donovan rode home.

Reno came back with a group of the Academy's medical staff and two stretchers, along with a small group of Second Classes. His timing was perfect, as Sephiroth and Zack were bringing their chocobo to a halt just as Reno arrived. Zack ordered one of the medics and stretchers to his side, dismounting his chocobo and easing Cloud down from the saddle. He was already babbling to the medic and rattling off about injuries Cloud seemed to have sustained, so the Turks ignored that and turned instead to Sephiroth and their murderer.

"Took you damn long enough," Tseng said, face blank as a slate as Sephiroth dismounted from his chocobo. Sephiroth gave him a glare that would have very easily killed anyone else, but Tseng just smirked and told Reno to see to Jennison's transfer to the helicopter. As Reno did, Tseng looked at the blood on Sephiroth's uniform and raised an eyebrow, asking the obvious question without words.

Sephiroth grunted, took the time to glance at Zack and Cloud as the recruit was wheeled away to the infirmary. "The old abandoned base, not far from the western sealine or the mountain range. Managed to take him down, but only after injuring him extensively."

"But you did not kill him?"

"No, but he'll die soon enough. Whatever the hell it was that Hojo was or wasn't giving him, it made a monster out of him."

"A dying monster?"

"Indeed."

"Anything he told you that I should know?"

Sephiroth was silent for a time, then turned cold, hateful eyes toward Tseng, even though that hatred was not directed at Tseng himself. The Turk knew exactly who that hate was reserved for, and couldn't help but wonder if Hojo might be found suddenly dead the next time Sephiroth returned to Midgar.

"You may inform Professor Hojo that if he attempts such subterfuge ever again--"

"Already done."

"Then I have nothing else to say. I wash my hands of this."

As Sephiroth started into the Academy grounds, Tseng turned and said, "I need a report on my desk by the end of tomorrow, Commander." Sephiroth didn't respond, and Tseng didn't really expect any sort of reponse. Instead, he started to look for Reno, to find the helicopter ready for lift-off.

 _Gods... I can't wait to have a real drink when I get back to Midgar..._

***

Cloud cracked open his eyes. He wasn't sure how long it had been, since he was taken in here, since he was put down in a real bed. He couldn't remember when he had been changed into this paper-thin cotton gown, couldn't remember when he must have been cleaned up. He just knew he felt a lot less dirty, felt that the only injury that still bothered him was the one on his arm, where he had been scratched. He could feel a bandage, reached with one pale hand and touched it, wincing. Then he heard something like a yawn, and turned his head to see Zack sitting beside the head of his bed, rubbing his eyes. When Zack lowered his hand, he looked down at Cloud, and for a few seconds they just stared at each other. Cloud thought that at another time, if he weren't quite so sleepy or drowsy, he would have found the entire image amusing... but right now, just seeing Zack's eyes was one of the most comforting things...

"Hey," Zack said finally, leaning closer to him. "How do you feel?"

"I'm not sure," Cloud mumbled, breathing deeply. He turned onto his side and closed his eyes again. "I don't know. Tired."

A hand descended and touched his hair, slowly, carefully, gently. "It's all right. You don't have to do anything for a few days. Hey, when you're feeling better, I'll help you get back to the dorms, okay?"

"'kay..." He yawned, sighed, and looked up at Zack again. "Where...?"

"Seph is debriefing the rest of the campus, trying to get things back to normal around here. And you won't have to worry about Gunther's thugs anymore; they're being expelled from the Academy."

"Expelled?"

"Bounced back into the regulars, anyway. So, chances of you ever running into them ever again are slim. Besides all that, they might be a little more disciplined if they don't have as much freedom, and if they wind up under direct SOLDIER supervision. We've already received a volunteer to deal with them and some other troublemakers from the regular army, put them into a single squad and see if they won't shape up. And if not... well, they'll probably be booted out of the Shinra."

"Mm." He shivered, and Zack reached to tuck in the blankets around him. "What about... you know..."

"Jennison?" Zack said, and he nodded. "Well..." Zack shook his head, shrugged. "The Turks took him away. Seph said something about him being 'returned', but... I don't think you'll have to worry about him. He's gone, now."

"Gone," Cloud echoed, and looked away. "Yeah..."

"Cloud..." His older friend seemed uncertain how to go on, looked decidedly uncomfortable. "If you need to talk to anyone about what happened..."

"I know," he whispered back, looking back up at Zack. "I know you'll always be there for me, Zack. Thank you." He smiled, sleepily, and saw Zack smile back down at him. He leaned down and kissed him, gently on the forehead, before leaning back in his chair. Cloud closed his eyes again, and fell asleep.

***

That evening, Hojo wandered into one of his labs to find Specimen S-002 laid out on one of his worktables. Both hands hidden in his labcoat pockets, Hojo approached the worktable and looked down at the specimen. Jennison's state of deterioration and mutation had been halted, at least momentarily, by a small injection of the "medicine" he had concocted, but Hojo had no doubt that Specimen S-002 would be dead, and soon. Slowly, Hojo poked at one of the scaled arms, restrained to the worktable by a thick metal band. The claw twitched, and cobalt blue eyes opened, fixing on him with a glare.

"Well, it would seem as if Tseng delivered, eh...?" Hojo grinned as he leaned back, looking down at large, angry Mako eyes. "I will admit, Jennison, you were something of a work of art. You've lasted longer than I thought you would, and you're in much better condition than I predicted, as well. It's such a shame your mind didn't improve along with your looks, eh?"

"...go to hell."

With a chuckle, the professor pulled his other hand out of the labcoat pocket, revealing a revolver. "That's not a very nice thing to say, Jennison. After all I've done for you, surely you have a little more gratitude?"

The specimen said nothing, only looked away from Hojo and the revolver, as if totally uninterested.

"None at all? No regrets, either?"

"...regret that I never killed you when I had the chance," Ames hissed, still looking away.

"Still thinking about the boy, are you?" Hojo pried, nudging his head with the barrel of the gun. Ames said nothing, still refrained from looking at him, and Hojo grinned. "Oh, there's no need to worry about him, Jennison. After all, I'll only be offering him the same thing I offered you... everything he wants." He leaned back with a chuckle when Ames's head twisted around, and the specimen bared his sharp teeth in a snarl. He started to strain at his metal trappings, started to pull, and as he did Hojo took a few steps back, raising the revolver and taking aim. "You know I'm just doing what's best for the boy, don't you, Ames? My dear son? Just like I did for you. Now, say goodnight."

Hojo fired, not just once but three times, watching as the specimen's body jerked and spasmed before finally lying still on the worktable. He debated firing again for good measure, but decided it was pointless to waste good bullets when he could just let the warring Mako and Jenova cells do the rest of the work. Putting the gun away, Hojo took up his notepad and jotted down a few notes for his next experiment, then turned and casually strolled away without looking back. There was no point in dwelling on the past too much.

Besides, he had a brand new specimen to toy with, provided he play his cards correctly.

Straightening his tie, Professor Hojo stopped the first passing scientist he saw and ordered them to have the mess in lab 2C cleaned up by the morning.

***

Cloud sat up suddenly, gasping for air, a panicked scream caught in his throat. He wound up coughing and doubling over, shutting his eyes and running one hand over his face, his coughing turning into a strangled sob.

"Cloud?" The voice at his side was worried, quiet, and a hand touched his back in a soothing way, terribly familiar and he wasn't sure how. "Cloud, it was a nightmare... a nightmare..."

Taking another deep, shuddering breath, he opened his eyes and looked to the side of the bed, surprised to see Sephiroth there. He gasped again, stubbornly rubbed at his face, smudging the tears on the back of his hand and trying to compose himself.

"Sorry," he whispered, quietly, only to be further surprised when another hand caught his own, gently pulling it away from his face. He looked up, knew his face was colored from shame and embarrassment, but the look in Sephiroth's eyes was one of concern, not condescension... He swallowed, and felt the hand on his back start rubbing small circles.

"There's no need to apologize over something you had no control over," Sephiroth said, leaning over to kiss Cloud on the forehead. "You never asked to have any of this happen to you."

He was silent for a moment, looking down at his lap, saw his one hand was still clutching the blanket in a white-knuckled grip. "Where's Zack...?"

"I came in and he had fallen asleep... so I told him to go back to the dorm and get some rest, that I would keep watch." There was a slight pause. "Is that all right... with you?"

He nodded, wiped at his face again. "Of course, I didn't know... didn't know..."

"You were talking in your sleep," Sephiroth murmured. "Do you want to talk about anything...?"

Shaking his head, he looked up at Sephiroth for a few moments, before saying, "What... what did I say...?"

"Nothing particularly coherent." The older man cocked his head, long silver hair falling over one shoulder, even as his hand carefully ran along Cloud's face. "But you were frightened."

"Sephiroth..." He bit his lower lip, averted his gaze yet again. He wasn't sure how to say what he wanted to say, how he could tell Sephiroth, of all people, what had happened to him, what had so obviously given him that nightmare. He didn't even remember most of it, just brief images, flashes of images, a bloodied lab, Ames, Ames, Ames... always Ames. He just didn't know... and thinking about it only seemed to make it worse; his eyes were tearing up again, he could feel it. He was such a weakling, he had actually let Ames do what he wanted and--

He wasn't expecting the soft kiss, wasn't expecting to feel the one hand stroking his face slip back into his hair to steady his head, wasn't expecting the warm green glow of heavy-lidded eyes to meet his own, quietly confused gaze. He wasn't expecting the gentle way he was eased into Sephiroth's arms, surprised when he realized the other man had, at some point, moved from his chair to the edge of the bed, shifting his hold on him so carefully... He wasn't expecting it at all.

"You have no reason to feel ashamed, Cloud," whispered the other man, into his ear. "Zack and I know... we know, and we're not angry, not upset, only worried... worried about you, about your feelings, about your wounds... about you."

"You... you know...?!" Cloud said, starting to grow more horrified, but he felt another soft press of lips against the slope of his neck, and one of the other man's hands gently squeezed his own.

"We do. Zack said it was obvious when he found you, and Ames practically bragged about it during the brief battle." A pause. "Cloud... we will not treat you any differently than before... you're still Cloud, to us... Nothing will change that. Nothing."

"Nothing...?" Cloud asked, slowly relaxing again in Sephiroth's arms, and unable to keep down a yawn.

"Nothing." He leaned back, taking Cloud with him, and closed his own eyes. "Now get some rest... and don't worry, I'll be here when you wake up..."

"...promise...?"

"I promise."

***

Tseng moved quietly down the halls of the science department in the Shinra Headquarters Building. He did not enjoy walking these halls, and having only been there the other day, he had every intention of avoiding it for at least a week afterwards. Twice a week was too often, in his book. Behind him, as he had been part of the investigation, was Reno, walking with that familiar, deceptive slouch. They continued down the dimly lit halls, sneaking past the few labs that were completely lit up and knowing that Hojo was certainly lurking in one of them, until they finally stopped before lab 2C.

Swiping his keycard through the scanner alongside the door, Tseng entered the room, one hand on the holster of his favorite handgun. He stopped only a few steps into the room, heard Reno come to a stop beside him, and with a heavy sigh closed his eyes.

The team of scientists that had been sent by Hojo to clean up the lab were littered about the room, bodyparts and blood and gore painting the majority of the lab's surfaces a deep, brilliant red. The worktable that had been bolted down into the floor had been turned over onto its side, wrenched from its place on the floor and shoved up against the cabinets, apparently wedging at least one body between table and cabinets, judging by the limp arm hanging brokenly over the edge of the table.

With a curse, Reno left his place at Tseng's side, going to the nearest body and nudging it with a toe.

"Fuck 'im to hell," Reno muttered, drifting about the room and finally squatting down beside one of the scientists still in relatively one piece. He shoved the corpse over, held up the empty clear plastic slip that normally held an ID card. "That goddamned monster escaped... Right beneath our fuckin' noses!"

Tseng went to Reno's side, looked up at the ceiling. "And avoided our cameras. That's why we never heard or saw it coming. Or going, rather."

Reno looked up, tilted his head back and saw that the casing around the ventilation shaft had been damaged. "Shit. How long has it been since the team stepped in here?"

"An hour ago. That's why I became suspicious."

Straightening and standing up, Reno shouldered his nightstick, reaching inside his coat to fish out his pack of cigarettes. "So, what the hell do we do now?"

Tseng turned and started to leave the lab, expecting Reno to follow without question. "According to Hojo, Jennison would die eventually without his chemicals anyway. It's not likely that he would survive for long."

"You're saying we should drop this?"

"It's not our problem anymore, Reno. Even if he does live long enough to get out of here, so long as he stays out of our business, I couldn't give a damn."

"Sounds good to me. Hojo'll be pissed, though."

"Let him be pissed. It's over, one way or another."

***

A month had passed since the incident regarding the murder of Gunther and the rumored execution of suspect Ames Jennison. Things at the SOLDIER Academy had returned, more or less, to normal, with the reopening of the grounds and the restoration of the regular class schedule. Cloud had gone back to his dorm room with Zack, and received a warm welcome back by squad zeta by way of a party. Zack thought the reception had actually helped Cloud, jostle him out of his frightened mindset in a way that not even comforting by himself and Sephiroth could have managed.

Even so, another barrage of exams had just passed, and Zack could only think of one appropriate way to celebrate it.

"No, Zack, don't put me in by my ankles, stop it, st--"

Zack looked down over the end of the diving board, grinning impishly as Cloud swam back up to the surface, spluttering and splashing.

"C'mon, Cloud, I taught you better than that."

Cloud treaded water, splashing some more of the pool water up at Zack with a grin. "Why don't you get in here, then?"

"I will, come to think of it," Zack said, taking a few steps back. Cloud instantly panicked, shouting at him to wait until he cleared the water in front of the board, but Zack ignored him, took a running leap off of the diving board, and performed a picture-perfect swandive into the pool, passing right underneath Cloud's feet. Cloud continued to tread water, turning and watching as Zack surfaced. Zack laughed when Cloud started to berate him for being careless and so on, tilting his head back and then reaching over to tickle Cloud while he was so obviously distracted.

Zack couldn't think of anything more perfect than this. A starry summer night out in the pool, along with his best friend and hopefully sometime lover. The only thing that would make it better hadn't arrived just yet, but Zack was certain that would change soon.

Still, any chance he got to observe Cloud was a welcome one, and he watched as Cloud tried to go under in an attempt to escape Zack's relentless tickling. Zack watched the lithe body as his friend wriggled through the water, faster than he had ever been, and Zack waited with a grin for his friend to surface again.

Cloud had been changed by everything that had happened. There was an obvious difference between the Cloud before the murder and after the rescue... a big difference, and Zack knew that some of those changes were permanent. Some of them were for the better; after his initial recovery and his return to squad zeta, Cloud had become more determined to be able to protect himself. He had actually cut back on some of his academic studying in order to put in more practice with Zack, and Zack had been surprised--pleased, but definitely much more surprised--by the improvement in Cloud's skills.

On the other hand, Cloud was much more wary about being touched, even more so than before. He still had a tendency to tense up sometimes when touched casually, sometimes even when Zack or Sephiroth did something as simple as put a hand on his shoulder. It was much better now than it had been when he had first been brought back, and Zack was certain it would become easier as time went by. In the meantime, Zack and Sephiroth had both been very careful, slowly reminding Cloud just how wonderful touching could be, just how comforting and relaxing and nonthreatening it could be. Carefully, and slowly, but Zack thought their treatment was working. After all, they could kiss him on the lips again without him drawing back, they could sleep in Seph's bed, side-by-side-by-side, and he didn't panic in his dreams, didn't lay awake during the night as he had used to do.

No, things weren't the same... but they were getting better. And best of all, Zack noticed that a little flirtation went a long way.

"Is this a private party, or might I join you?"

Zack turned around, heard Cloud let out an excited noise from behind him as he surfaced, joy at seeing Sephiroth closing the gate behind him. He turned, looked at the two of them with a smile, and then dropped his robe, running and diving smoothly into the pool. Zack was laughing and Cloud was blushing, as Sephiroth came up in-between them and smiled.

"It's not as if there's anyone out here. Stop smirking like that, Zackary. This isn't the first time--"

"Yeah, but the first time we went skinny-dipping it was up in the Wutai mountains, alone, and not with a young recruit appreciating our glorious manhood--"

"Silence. You're still wearing your swim trunks."

Cloud had had to swim toward one of the pool's ladders, clinging onto the metal railing and looking at them with wide eyes, and then watching with some amusement as Zack's blue trunks went flying over his head, landing out on the grass with a wet slop.

"What were you saying?"

"I stand corrected." Sephiroth and Zack both turned toward Cloud, and the oldest of the two exchanged a grin. "Should we?"

"What do you say, Cloud?" Zack asked him directly, locking his eyes with Cloud's. He grinned, but he knew it was important, that Cloud make the decision, not either of them.

Cloud just stared at the two, before his face finally broke out into a wide smile. "Sure. But only if you can catch me first!"

Sephiroth let out something very much like an enthusiastic growl while lunging toward the ladder, but Cloud had already pulled himself up and had taken off running across the grass, laughing. Zack was right on his heels, and it wasn't long after that that they had managed to catch up with their quarry. After some tumbling and more tickling, they managed to get the swim trunks off, but Cloud proved more slippery and had already taken refuge back into the pool before they caught up with him again.

Sometime later, after their play had worn them all out considerably, they lay out on the grass. Zack and Sephiroth had paused to regain a little bit more dignity by putting on some clothes, while Cloud lay between them, wrapped up snuggly in Sephiroth's robe. They stared up at the sky for a time, mostly silent.

"I like the stars," Cloud said, finally breaking the silence with a soft whisper.

"Yeah... I'm gonna miss 'em when we eventually head back to Midgar for some of the more advanced training..." Zack sighed, turned his head and looked at Cloud. "Well, you know, Cloud, I've already given you some lessons... it's Seph's turn now, isn't it?"

Sephiroth closed his eyes, but smiled. "Astronomy lessons...?"

"Yeah, you've always like the sky and stuff, Seph. And it's not fair if I'm the only one imparting random knowledge to Cloud."

Cloud giggled. "Swimming lessons aren't random."

"I dunno. It was more in reference to all of the random trivia I spout off, but..."

Cloud shook his head, still grinning. "No, no, it's not random trivia. And I think I'd like to learn about the stars." He reached up with a hand, made a snatching motion. "When I was little, I always told Mother how much I wanted to catch one."

"Catching stars, hmm...?" Sephiroth turned over onto his side, propping his head up on a hand. His smiled turned kinder, somehow, and he nodded. "That suits you."

"Watch out, Cloud," Zack whispered, rolling onto his side, closer to Cloud. "Seph writes poetry, he's gonna--ow! What was that for?!"

Sephiroth lowered his fist. "You should show more respect for your superior. Now, come along. It's time for some quick showers, and then bed."

Zack grumbled slightly, but hopped up without question and headed for the gate, waiting as Sephiroth helped Cloud to his own feet. Together they walked around the quiet campus to the showers, and from there they traveled back to Sephiroth's quarters. They were too tired to do much else by that point, and it wasn't long before Zack and Cloud had both dropped off to sleep. Sephiroth stayed awake a little bit longer, running his hands through both their hair, marveling at the mingling strands of midnight and sunshine, so odd...

Cloud stirred, beneath his hand, and he waited for a moment until Cloud quieted down again. Slowly, Sephiroth leaned down and gently kissed Cloud on the lips, before closing his own eyes and starting to drift towards sleep.

 _A star..._

 _One day, I'll find one for you..._

***

That same evening, somewhere outside of Kalm, far removed from Midgar and the SOLDIER Academy campus, a young man stood in ragged clothes at the top of a cliff, looking out at the ocean. His hands and arms were scarred, and he held a set of dogtags, both dangling from one hand. Slowly, he raised them to his face, read the names stenciled onto them with glowing eyes.

GALES, KEITH.

STRIFE, CLOUD.

Sighing, he lowered the hand to his side, sank down until he sat on the cliff's edge, a disgusted sound in his throat. He would learn to be patient. He would learn to wait.

He would learn.

~Fin~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Commentary  
> 11:34pm, April 8, 2003
> 
> Phew. This is the first time I've ever undertaken a real, honest-to-goodness go through chapter-by-chapter and fix-everything rewrite. Granted, it's still far from perfect, but I like this second version of Swimming Lessons much better than the first. Much, much better. Some of you might wonder about the drastic change of the ending, but there were several reasons behind it. Not all of them will be obvious immediately, and I'll leave you all wondering because it's just that much more fun this way.
> 
> The SL rewrite is probably the first of three. There are other two stories I'm thinking of sitting down and rewriting. One is my first real foray into the 'net world of fanficion, my old FFVII story Angels of Strife. The second one I'm planning on rewriting is one I've had around for awhile and never really posted, one called Shards of Glass. Predictably, it's also FFVII.
> 
> Anyway, I hope everyone's enjoyed this as much as I have. Thanks goes to the lovely Thorne-sama for beta-ing this for me, and putting up with me continually asking her opinions on things. Thanks also goes to the one and only Twig-sama, for *glomping* me and encouraging me to continue working on this.
> 
> That's it for now. See you later, same Catt time, same Catt channel.


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